Haunted by The Uchihas
by deadly-chronicles
Summary: Fallen into a comatose state during the war, the last thing Hyuuga Hinata expects when she wakes up is to have three Uchiha ghosts haunting her and they're all requesting the same thing: take care of Uchiha Sasuke. [REPOST]
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Fallen into a comatose state during the war, the last thing Hyuuga Hinata expects when she wakes up is to have three Uchiha ghosts haunting her and they're all requesting the same thing: take care of Uchiha Sasuke.

**A/N:** I have been receiving many requests to re-upload this fanfic here, so that's what I will do. I am now more tolerant (or perhaps just apathetic) regarding hate reviews of pairing because frankly right now, I can't be bothered about anything. I write because I enjoy writing and I realise its unfair for the Sasuhina shippers to remove this story just because some morons cannot open up their minds to differences.

Anyway, I re-edited all of the chapters because after re-reading it, I realise my language is damn bad. There might be a little plot differences as well depending how it goes. The original fic seem a little rush to me in the end. Lol. As this will be a re-post, you can expect weekly updates I suppose. I am still in the midst of editing the rest of the chapters.

Also, when I first posted this story, Neji was still alive. He will still remain alive in this fic.

Note that this fic takes place right after the Shinobi War. I'm making their ages around 18/19

**I do not own Naruto**

**Haunted By The Uchihas**

_by deadly-chronicles_

She had always been told that death was unappealing. Death, according to the majority, would only bring about temporary peace. After a while, it would be just emptiness. Many of those times though, she had refused to believe it. She had always believed that death would grant her the passage to the afterlife, freeing her from the burdens of the real world, but she was proven wrong as now she understood why many were afraid to die because death gave them _nothing._

She didn't know how long she had been floating in this white realm. She wasn't even sure if she was dead or_ how long_ she had been dead, but what she was sure of was the voidness within and around her. She felt empty. There was no pain nor sadness, just pure emptiness.

She couldn't really remember what had happened or how she had ended up here, but she vaguely recalled fighting in the Fourth Shinobi War. She remembered the final battle they had with Uchiha Madara and then there was an explosion. She remembered jumping in front of someone to protect him, who that someone was she couldn't really remember, but the next thing she recalled was impending darkness and when she woke up, she was here floating.

It seemed to her that she was really dead, and she had died while trying to protect someone, a person she couldn't even remember. Confused by the current state, Hinata sighed. If she was really dead, why couldn't she cross over? In the next life, she would be able to see her mother again, even her uncle, and she would be able to tell them how much she had missed them. She could hug them, see their smiles and perhaps finally be at peace. Unfortunately she was not given such luxury as she was currently stuck here in this white realm, this lonely realm where she felt _nothing._

Then she began to wonder. Did anyone miss her? Did anyone cry for her? Most importantly, what about her clan? Did they mourn for her or celebrate the fact that their useless heiress is now gone? How about Naruto-kun? Did he even think about her confession? Was he even planning in answering her, or just leave her be?

Hinata was beginning to feel frustrated. Why can't she go to the afterlife? She didn't even care if she goes to hell as long as she gets away from this place. She couldn't feel anything here and it was driving her insane. So why? Why can't she just freaking cross over?

"_Because there's something you need to do."_ She heard a voice or_ voices_ actually.

"What?" Hinata murmured, clearly confused. It was the first time she heard voices in this realm, but she didn't have a chance to hear a response because suddenly there was this strong pain.

A surging pain, a strong force that was pulling her out and she felt like screaming in agony. All of a sudden, she felt pain in every part of her body. The white realm she was in slowly began to disappear, replacing by darkness. The pain became unbearable and the next thing she knew, she was gasping for air and she heard her name being called.

"Hinata! Hinata!"

Hinata forced herself to open her eyes, taking in her new surroundings. Lights blinded her sight but she soon grew accustomed to it as her vision began to clear. Her was still aching, her breathing still uneven and her head was hurting so much. The pain was real, but somehow Hinata knew that she was still _alive._

"Hinata! Hyuuga Hinata!"

She tilted her head to see the one who had been calling her. The voice was familiar, female, but strong and mighty.

"T-Tsunade-sama?" Hinata managed to choke out.

She saw a wave of relief in Tsunade's expression as if she thought that she was gone. She felt Tsunade grabbing her hand and Hinata blinked in confusion at the actions of the Fifth Hokage.

"Thank goodness. We thought you're going to die," Tsunade spoke softly, "you've been in a coma for _months_ and your vitals have suddenly dropped We thought you were not going to make it. I won't forgive myself if you die and that_ bastard_ lives, so thank kami-sama. Thank you."

Hinata blinked again trying to absorb what was being said. She was definitely confused but she managed to choke out a few words. "I-I'm alive?"

Tsunade smiled. "Yes."

Still perplexed, Hinata looked around her new surroundings. She realized that she was in the hospital. The curtains were drawn allowing the natural breeze and sunlight in, fresh flowers were on the table besides her bed and Hinata was sure it meant she had have visitors. She smiled at the thought when she suddenly heard voices.

"_Do you think she can see us?"_

Hinata immediately stiffened. The air felt chilly all of a sudden. She was damn sure that Tsunade was currently the only one with her right now so why did she hear voices? Looking around, she tensed up when she saw three figures at the side, two males; the stern one around her father's age while the other who looked strangely like the only surviving Uchiha was slightly older than her. The last one was a woman around her mother's age if she was still alive. They looked alike, as though they were a family. She tensed up once again as all of them were staring at her intently and she shifted uncomfortably due to their intense gaze.

"W-Who are they?" Hinata unknowingly blurted.

"Sorry?" Tsunade looked at her in confusion.

"Those three people by the window." Hinata pointed towards the three figures.

Tsunade stared at the direction she was pointing at incredulously before looking back at the petite and timid girl on the bed. Her expression softened. "Hinata, I think you're still tired after being in a coma for so long. There's no one there. There's no one else in this room except for you and me."

Hinata's eyes widened. "B-But-" She stuttered, staring back at the three figures.

They were_ there_. She could see them _clearly_ but Tsunade couldn't. _Why?_ She continued staring at them and they returned the gesture and her eyes widened more when the woman walked _through_ the table and stood besides her bed.

"Kami-sama! Fugaku, Itachi, I think she can see us!" The woman exclaimed and leaned closer to her.

Hinata froze. This woman just walked through a table, _a freaking table_. She closed her eyes wondering if this was just her imagination but when she opened them again, they were still there and the woman was leaning even closer to her now with a smile on her face_._

"Hello!" The woman spoke. "I'm Uchiha Mikoto, and the two brooding men there are my husband Uchiha Fugaku and eldest son Uchiha Itachi! Nice to meet you, Hyuuga!"

"U-Uchiha?" Hinata paled.

From what she remembered, there's only one Uchiha left- the brooding enigma named Uchiha Sasuke. She knew the rest of the Uchihas were very much _dead_ due to the massacre so why the hell was three Uchihas standing in front of her and one of them walked through a freaking table? Unless these three are…

"Mother, I think you're scaring her." Itachi commented noticing that the Hyuuga's face was getting paler every second.

"What? No way. I'm sure I don't look scary. We're ghosts but I don't think we're sc-" Mikoto argued but was cut off by a loud thud. She turned around and saw that the Hyuuga was already unconscious again on her bed as Tsunade quickly tried to figure out what was wrong.

"We must have scared her." Fugaku commented dryly.

Scared her they did, because right after realizing that those three were ghosts, Hyuuga Hinata did the one thing she always did.

She fainted.

**xXXxXXxXXx**

She couldn't describe the immense relief she felt when she found out she was finally being discharged today. According to Tsunade, she had been in a coma for _three long months_ and they were starting to lose hope. Tsunade also told her how her teammates, Kiba and Shino, made it a point to visit her everyday and speak to her about random things hoping that she would wake up. Her cousin, Neji, also visited her daily. He however didn't talk much and just watch over her silently. Hearing stories about how much they cared about her, when she finally regained consciousness after three long months, she wasn't surprised that the first three to barge into her hospital room the next day were these very three guys whom she had considered as brothers.

Oh how she missed hearing their voices and feeling their warm embraces when Kiba practically yelled her name and hugged her as though she just came back from the dead while Neji glared daggers at him and Shino just stood silently in the corner. Her other friends visited her as well but not as often as these three. Tsunade didn't allow her to go home immediately though due to her sudden fainting when she woke up from her coma,_ no thanks_ to the three Uchihas spirit she saw. She was as such forced her to stay in the hospital for another three weeks.

Three weeks were a torture, but thank goodness for her, three weeks passed in a breeze thanks to Kiba's continuous babblings. Regarding the three Uchihas spirits she saw, she never once mentioned it to anyone for she knew they would probably think she was crazy. She never did see them again after the first encounter making her believed that it had been her imagination all along. She was after all had just lingered in a world between life and death before she woke up. It wouldn't be a surprise if her mind dysfunction for a while and caused her to see things. Whatever it was, she was definitely glad she didn't see them again or else she was sure that she would question her very own sanity.

"Hinata-sama."

She snapped out of her thoughts as she heard the voice she was so familiar with. Turning to face him, she smiled. "Neji-niisan."

Neji returned her smile with a small smile of his own as he gently grabbed her right hand. "I'm here to bring you back home. Let's go."

Hinata nodded as Neji led her out of the hospital and she was glad to finally be outside after so long. As she had been stuck in a hospital for a long period, the fresh air almost seems foreign to her, but oh she was glad all right to finally feel the sun light radiating as well as the natural breeze. It actually made her thankful that she woke up from her coma. As the two Hyuugas walked silently, Hinata observed the village. While things looked relatively similar, she noticed that the reconstruction has led to some subtle differences.

Neji didn't let go of her hand at all as they walked home, not that she really mind. She knew her elder cousin cares a lot about her and is rather protective, but he is terrible in expressing himself with words so this was one of his way to show her that he cares. The journey home was relatively quiet but both didn't mind since they weren't much of a talker. While some may find silence suffocating, people like them appreciate it.

"We're here." Neji told her as they stood outside the Hyuuga manor.

Honestly, she didn't know what to feel right now. While this was indeed her home, it hurt to know that no one here bothered to visit her when she was hospitalized except for Neji, Ko and Hanabi. Well, her father visited her once according to Tsunade which was quite surprising, but other than that, no one else came. She wouldn't be surprised if some of them actually wished for her to remain in a coma. After all, many were not fond of a timid and shy Hyuuga, let alone weak.

Hinata sighed and reluctantly dragged herself inside. Once inside, they were greeted by the maids and after Hinata politely replied to every single one of them, Neji walked her all the way to her room in which she murmured a genuine thank you before she entered the comfort of her room.

Seeing her room, she didn't feel like she has missed three months at all. Everything remained the same and nothing was out of place much to her contentment. The only thing that felt different was the temperature. It was strangely colder as usual, but Hinata decided to assume that it was just her body still recuperating. Happily humming, she then sat on the bed she missed, enjoying the comfort the bed was giving her.

"_Welcome back."_ She heard.

"Thank you." She replied with a smile before she froze. She knew she was alone in her room so…

Hesitantly, she turned her head to the right where the voice came from. Her eyes widened in fear and she literally fell off her bed with a shriek, bumping her head onto the floor in the process and all because she saw the three Uchihas in her room.

Correction: Three _dead_ Uchihas in her room.

"Hinata-sama! Are you all right?" Neji barged into her room the moment he heard her scream. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw Neji walking _through_ the dead Uchihas. She realized he couldn't see them.

_Only she could._

"Hinata-sama?" Neji called out, worried by his cousin horrified expression.

"I-I'm all right." Hinata stammered somewhat dazed.

Neji gazed at her incredulously, but she didn't look like she was going to tell him anything. He sighed and extended his hand to pull her up. With a smile, she accepted it.

"T-Thank you." She blushed slightly and Neji merely nodded.

"Will you be all right on your own here? I've to go on a mission soon but you worry me too much." Neji asked her again, still concern.

"I'll be fine." She smiled and even though he was reluctant, he had no choice but to leave her room since he had a mission to go to.

Once her cousin had left leaving her alone in her room, Hinata looked down and rubbed her eyes mumbling to herself that this was just her imagination. She even found herself chanting _mantras_. After five minutes, she finally found the courage to look up again and immediately staggered back till she was against the wall as the three Uchihas were still there_ staring at her._

"My, my, did we scare you again my dear?" Uchiha Mikoto murmured with a worried look. "You fainted when you first saw us so we thought we'll give you space and greet you once you return home instead."

"H-How? W-Why-? W-Wh-?" Hinata blurted. Her breathing was ragged and it almost seemed like she had forgotten to breathe. Perhaps she had because she was hyperventilating.

"She's hyperventilating." Uchiha Itachi commented impassively.

"Oh dear! Calm down dear. We're not here to hurt you!" Uchiha Mikoto said trying to calm the poor girl.

"Hn. I know this is a bad idea." Fugaku murmured dryly.

Hinata tried to breathe as she stared at the three Uchihas with fear. "A-Am I d-dead?"

"No. _But we are._" Itachi replied. "And please don't faint again."

She didn't faint, but she did collapse to the ground, sitting down now but her eyes were still on the three. "W-Why? How?"

"Hyuuga Hinata right?" Mikoto asked. Hinata nodded and the woman smiled before chuckling. "My, my Hinata-chan, you've grown up into a fine lady!"

Her face turned a bright shade of red.

"You probably can't remember me. I think you were just four years old when you first saw me." Mikoto chuckled.

"Oh." Hinata dumbly replied. She struggled to find the right words. "U-Umm, why are you three here? I-I mean you three are…"

"We can't cross over." Fugaku told her. She flinched slightly because his voice was stern and demanding, just like her father.

"W-Why?" She cursed herself for stuttering, but at least she still managed to speak. In normal situation, she would have fainted already.

"It seems that the three of us still have regrets." Itachi explained.

"What regrets?"

She noticed that the expressions of the three Uchihas turned grim before all of them responded at the same time. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"U-Umm…"

Mikoto sighed. "You see, Sasuke has been in the darkness for so long. Even now with Madara defeated and the war is over, he is still in pain. It seems that we can't move on until Sasuke finds some sort of happiness."

"U-Umm, I'm sorry if I sound rude," Hinata hesitated, "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because for some strange reason, you're the_ only_ one who can see us!" Mikoto exclaimed. "Please Hinata-chan, we don't know who else to go to since only you can see us. Will you help us?"

All of this seemed so unreal. It was hard for her to even believe that three ghosts were in front of her and now they were asking her for help because no one else could see them except for her. To say that she was confused was an understatement. Yet again, she wasn't one to reject those who asked for help especially when they asked her nicely even though they scared the shit out of her. _They're ghosts after all._

Hinata gathered some courage before speaking again. "What do you want me to do?"

"Easy." Fugaku said. "Save Sasuke."

"Save?" Hinata titled her head in confusion. "But, he has already been saved. I mean, he's in Konoha right now. Naruto-kun brought him back." Hinata told them vaguely remembering Kiba telling her that the Uchiha Sasuke had been brought back to Konoha after the war and had been staying here for three months, against his will of course.

"We know that. My little brother is indeed here. What we meant was, for you to take care of him." Itachi explained. "You know, make my little brother happy."

Hearing the request, she immediately turned bright red. "I can't!"

"Why not?" Fugaku asked clearly annoyed.

"I have never spoken to him before!_ Not even once_. How could I possibly make him happy? Wouldn't it better to ask someone who is comfortable with him? L-Like Naruto-kun or Sakura-san?"

"We would if they could see us." Fugaku spat. "But the problem is Hyuuga,_ only you can see us._"

"Father is right. We flew around Konoha but no one was able to see us, except you." Itachi said.

Hinata was stunned by those words. Why only she could see them? She was not even close to any Uchihas before so why? What was going on? She was definitely more than confused right now.

"Please Hinata-chan, you're only hope for now. We can't move on till Sasuke finds happiness. Please help him." Mikoto pleaded bowing repeatedly. "You can always try to befriend him or something. Just help us please._ Help him._"

Seeing Uchiha Mikoto pleading to her like that, Hinata didn't have the heart to say no. She could tell that their intentions were pure, they just wanted the last Uchiha to find happiness and until he did, they wouldn't be able to move on, but how could she do it? She_ never ever_ talked to Sasuke before. Well, they were right, she could just try befriending him, but would he even allow her? The last thing she remembered, Uchiha Sasuke wasn't really a sociable person,_ let alone friendly._

"Please Hinata-chan. It's okay if you fail, at least try? At least try to get to know my son?" Mikoto pleaded again.

Yes, she definitely could not reject this woman. She looked so broken. _They_ looked so broken. Against her better judgement, she agreed.

"Okay. I-I'll try my best." She answered and she felt glad to see the small smiles on their faces. They seemed at eased as though a huge burden had been lifted from their shoulders just by her agreeing to help them.

However when reality hit her hard again, making her realized that she now need to befriend and get to know the cold, hostile, violent and temperamental _Uchiha Sasuke_, Hyuuga Hinata wondered what in the world has she just dragged herself into.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

**P.S. Naruto has ended but I will still post Sasuhina. Lol.**

**Haunted by The Uchihas**

**Chapter 2**

_by deadly-chronicles_

If many were asked what living was like, they would probably answer that to live and being alive was a _blessing, _something that should be treasured.. However, for Uchiha Sasuke, it was a curse. Right now, being alive to him was a dread. He couldn't give a damn about his life. He felt that he shouldn't even be here. After years of seeking revenge and wanting to avenge his clan, he couldn't believe that in the end, he failed to achieve his last goal: to destroy the village. To make things worse, he was forced to return to that said village, the village which still very much despised.

In all honesty, he would rather be dead than to stay in this wretched village. As a matter of fact, he _nearly_ died, but _someone_ just _had_ to save him. He remembered during the final battle, Naruto had knocked him so hard that he was rendered immobile before joining the rest of the ninjas to have final battle with Madara. While Naruto and the rest fought Madara, Sasuke could only watch and he wished that someone would end his life there and then and his wish_ nearly_ come true. As the ninjas overwhelmed Madara who somewhat knew that it would be his end, Madara decided to aim his final blow at Sasuke, clearly intending that if he was going to die, he was going to drag the last Uchiha with him.

Sasuke recalled how excited he was knowing that his end was near. He waited in anticipation for the blow to hit him and end his life but to his chagrin, it never came. Why? Because someone jumped in front of him and took the hit instead. Someone_ protected_ him. He didn't know who, and he didn't get a chance to see who as all of a sudden, there was an explosion and everything went black.

When he regained consciousness, Sasuke realized his worst nightmare had came true. He was in Konoha hospital with his eye abilities sealed. He knew there and then there was no escape. He was now trapped in the village.

He seriously resented the person who had saved him. Why did he or she jumped in front of him and protected him? He had no idea who the person was, but he heard that said person entered a comatose state. Even after he regained consciousness which was a few weeks after the war ended, the person was still insentient. Honestly, he didn't give a damn. He didn't even bother to find out who his 'saviour' was and gave a silent '_you deserve it_' to that mysterious saviour because he or she saved his life when he_ didn't_ want to be saved.

He couldn't give a damn if the person ended up dead anyway. It was because of that said person he was tied down to this village against his will. He had been stuck here for three months, but he still felt no affinity towards this place and he was not planning to, ever.

"TEME!" A certain hyperactive blonde broke his chains of thoughts as a loud banging was heard from his door. "You bastard, open up!"

Sasuke groaned in annoyance as the banging grew louder, but despite that he refused to open the door. The last thing he needed was Naruto to disturb his peace in his own sanctuary, though he knew it was impossible because in three, two, one, Naruto would …

"TEME!"

The future Hokage barged in, completely unremorseful that his door was now in pieces.

Occurrences like this had strangely be the norm. Sasuke being an asshole would lock himself inside his house. He refused to go out at all. Naruto trying to be the good friend would come every single day to _coax_ him into going out. Of course nothing ever went as plan/ Sasuke still being an asshole would refuse to open the door and Naruto being Naruto would just break it open. Once inside, the blonde would yell at him, they would argue, few punches were thrown here and there and then Naruto would go back, call a contractor to fix his door and the cycle would repeat the next day.

In other words, his door had been destroyed repeatedly for 3 months straight. He was not bothered by it though because since Naruto was the one that destroyed it, he would be the one paying for him. The only thing he was annoyed with was Naruto's persistence.

"OEI TEME. STOP IGNORING ME!"

"What?" Sasuke snapped in annoyance glaring at the jumpy blonde.

"How long are you going to stay like this?" Naruto asked his expression serious now. "You can't lock yourself in here forever! You'll just die here one day!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Well, for your information, that's _exactly_ what I'm going to do. I rather die here than walk around the village."

"Sasuke, you're making this hard. We're all trying to help."

"I don't want help. I don't need help. Just leave me alone already."

Naruto sighed. "I can't. Look at you. Your house is a mess. You're barely eating any proper food and you refuse to go out. This is unhealthy."

"Good. I'll die faster."

Naruto was appalled. To think that _she_ had nearly died saving this bastard who wasn't even appreciating his own life. No. He couldn't give up. They finally brought Sasuke back home. He couldn't just give up now.

Glaring at the former avenger, Naruto punched him. "You bastard! At this rate, I have to assign you a caretaker!"

"Wow, that's a_ good_ idea." Sasuke mumbled sarcastically.

Well, it was sarcastic. He was sure it was. Unfortunately for him, Naruto being Naruto could never sense sarcasm. He actually believed that Sasuke thought it was a good idea. Seeing the foxy grin plastered on his friend's face, Sasuke knew that Naruto would definitely search for a caretaker because he was freaking serious.

_Shit._

Punching his fists into the air, Naruto beamed in excitement.

"Watch me, Sasuke! I'm going to find the greatest caretaker for you!" He exclaimed and straightaway bolted out of his house.

Sasuke stood still, completely appalled. Now Naruto was going to find him a caretaker, a caretaker he didn't even want. Well, he could just ignore this and hope that Naruto would forget about this, but knowing Naruto, he definitely wouldn't. He would probably even search the entire village to find him the perfect caretaker.

However yet again, he could just let Naruto work his ass off to find him a caretaker. Sasuke smirked as he thought of a devious plan. Once Naruto had assigned him a caretaker, he would push that person away, or better, just drive the caretaker insane.

Yes, he would _definitely_ do that.

Because Uchiha Sasuke was an asshole like that.

**xXXxXXxXXxXXxXXx**

If this was an official mission, then Hyuuga Hinata was currently failing miserably. Why?

Because she couldn't even_ find_ her target.

It wasn't that she wasn't trying hard enough. In fact, she was actually putting her heart and soul into it. With three ghosts trailing behind her, Hinata actually roamed around the _entire_ Konoha _not once_, but god knows how many times hoping to bump into a certain Uchina. She even used her Byakugan in case Uchiha Sasuke was hiding in a remote area no one knew of, but she found nothing as though Uchiha Sasuke had masked all of his chakra not wanting to be found.

Since roaming around clearly didn't work, Hinata decided to ask around. Of course that didn't help either. The villagers gave her a weird look while her friends' answers were anything but helpful.

Shikamaru's answer was lazy, as expect. He was practically still half asleep and answered her with a yawn. "Sasuke? Who knows where he is. Troublesome."

"Uchiha Sasuke? I haven't seen him around, at least not in all the eateries I have gone too." Chouji told her as he munched some chips as always.

"Sasuke-san?" Lee eyed her as he punched a tree. "Haven't seen him! He's probably somewhere doing something youthful!"

When she asked Tenten if she had seen Sasuke around, the weapon specialist literally stumbled resulting in the kunai she had thrown to glide to the opposite direction from what she had aimed. It nearly hit a village guard, but that was not the point. The point was, Tenten looked at her as though she was_ insane._ Hinata didn't blame her though. The last thing people had expected was to have the shy Hyuuga asking for the scary Uchiha.

Obviously Tenten didn't have answers. She thought of asking her teammates, but went against it knowing that they were protective of her. She thought of asking Neji as well, but again she didn't, knowing that Neji was even_ more_ protective of her.

Knowing those three, they wouldn't even answer her. They would probably just chase after the Uchiha demanding him why their shy Hinata was looking for him. Shino would do it discreetly using his bugs, but Neji and Kiba would definitely voice their unhappiness openly and that would create a lot of problems. The last thing she would need was to have a fight between three protective males and a ticking time bomb aka Uchiha Sasuke.

As everything else had failed, Hinata reluctantly made her way towards a certain female blonde who always knew of the current happenings in Konoha. She didn't care if gossips spread about her looking for the Uchiha. She really needed the help right now. She could not forget the look of Ino's face when she asked her about Sasuke, the way her eyes widened and her jaw opened wide, it was_ priceless._

"Sasuke-kun? I heard he refused to go out of his house." Ino told her still in a state of shock before her lips twitched into a sly grin. "So Hinata, you've finally become his fangirl eh?"

Hinata didn't answer. She merely ran away with her face flushed. Now here she was sitting on the bench feeling completely miserable. Not only couldn't she find Uchiha Sasuke, now some were beginning to think that she was a fangirl. She was frustrated. She did not need people to misunderstand her attentions, not when her love life was still unanswered.

She was also rather mad. Here she was running around town endlessly hoping to bump into him only to realize that the said male was refusing to go out of his house. Hinata was at loss of what to do. How in the world was she going to try to befriend someone who refused to go out of his own house?

"You can try befriending my little brother by visiting him." Itachi answered her silent question.

"No, that's not a good ide- Wait, did you just read my mind?" She asked staring at the ghost in front of her.

"Why isn't it a good idea?" Itachi asked impassively. "And yes I did. We can read your mind, in case you're wondering."

Her eyes widened in horror at the revelation. Not only was she stuck with three ghosts, she was stuck with three ghosts that could read her mind. She firmly believed that her privacy was now no longer in existent.

She was already having trouble sleeping because of the feeling of having three ghosts watching her.

She couldn't even dress up in peace without feeling self conscious, fearing that the three ghosts might take a peek.

And now she found out that they could read her mind? Hyuuga Hinata began to wish that maybe this was all just a dream, maybe she was still in a coma and her mind was playing tricks on her or _maybe_ she was really just insane.

"So, why isn't it a good idea?" Itachi repeated himself. "And do not worry. We did not peek while you dressed yourself. At least, father and I didn't, but mother did."

"Hey, I just wanted to see how well Hinata-chan developed, that's all." Uchiha Mikoto pouted defending herself. "And she's really well-developed, all right. Oh my, Itachi, she has all the_ right_ curves. You should have seen it!" Mikoto giggled to herself.

"I believe that's highly inappropriate, mother." Itachi calmly answered.

_'I'm not hearing this conversation. I'm not hearing this conversation. I'm not hearing this conversation,' s_he kept on telling herself with her face extremely flushed.

It was really awkward to have someone complimenting her figure in front of two males, even if they were already dead. She cursed herself for being trapped in this conversation which she had no idea how to escape from and she wished someone would just change the topic already.

"You still have yet to answer my question." Itachi murmured with his arms crossed and his eyes gazing intently on her which immediately made her feel small. Even as a ghost, Uchiha Itachi's gaze was intense.

With her blush slowly fading, Hinata recalled what Itachi had asked and sighed. "Like I've said once, I don't know him. It'll be weird to suddenly visit his house when I don't even know him."

Itachi sighed. "So you're going to give up?"

Hinata looked down sadly. In all honesty, she really didn't want to fail them. She sincerely wanted to help them, but it seemed impossible for her to befriend Sasuke. She was the wrong choice for this. She wished there was another way other than making Uchiha Sasuke happy to help these three souls moved on, but there wasn't. It was either befriending Sasuke and tried to make him happy or nothing at all. She would rather not say it, but giving up was an option. After all, how could she, the shy and timid wallflower be friends with one of the coldest person in the world?

"W-Well…"

"If you even think of giving up," Fugaku cut her off rudely, "I'll make sure I drag you to the Underworld with me."

Hinata immediately sunk. Now that was one hell of a threat. Fugaku sounded so stern like her father that she knew he wasn't joking _at all_. Suddenly, befriending Uchiha Sasuke seemed like a better choice than being dragged to the underworld. Furthermore, being dragged to the underworld by three angry ghosts didn't seem appealing one bit.

So, she still needed to try to be friends with Sasuke, but she had no idea how to start or where to begin. She wished there was something that could connect her with the Uchiha or someone that could help bring her close to him. She continued to ponder until her eyes caught sight of two figures.

Her eyes sparkled with joy when she caught the sight of those two. Of course! Who else could help her with her current predicament other than her target's former teammates? Feeling happy that she had found a chance in befriending the former avenger, the little confidence she had gained fell drastically when she wondered how she was going to ask Naruto and Sakura. She knew they would question her intentions. After all, everyone knew that she had never talked to Sasuke before. Sh never even had eyes on him at all, so why now?

What was she going to tell them? Tell them the truth that three Uchiha ghosts were currently haunting her and couldn't move on until Sasuke found happiness? Or better still, tell them the truth and hope that they would take over her and bring happiness to Sasuke?

Who was she kidding? Of course she couldn't tell them the truth! Who would believe in such story? Irritated, Hinata began to pull her hair in frustration, too caught up in her current dilemma that she didn't realize the two figures in front of her.

"Hinata? Hello? Hinata?" A voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Hinata hesitantly looked up and her face turned bright red seeing Naruto in front of her, his face very close to hers. "N-Naruto-kun!"

The future Hokage grinned at her before his expression turned to one of worry. "Anyway, are you okay? You look rather troubled just now."

Still blushing, she poked her two fingers together in nervousness. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about some t-things."

Naruto stared at her incredulously while the pink haired medic besides him finally spoke. "Hinata-chan, we still have yet to thank you properly."

Hinata blinked continuously in confusion. "Thank me? For what?"

"You don't remember?" Sakura asked, her eyes widened a fraction grabbing the shy girl's hands. "You help saved Sasuke-kun!"

"Huh?"

"Yea, Hinata! You were so awesome back then!" Naruto added on. "Madara was like 'If I'm going to die, I'm taking the last Uchiha with me' before giving his final attack and then you jumped in front of Sasuke and took the hit. You protected him!"

Hinata nearly fell off the bench. "I did?"

"Yes! It's sad that you ended up in a coma for three months," Naruto mumbled sadly before looking at her again with sincere eyes. "Why did you protect him?"

Why? She had no idea. There was a reason, but she couldn't remember. "A-Ahh, I can't really remember why. The things that happen on that day is still hazy... I can't remember them much."

"I see..." Naruto murmured before smiling at her again. "But it is thanks to you that Sasuke is alive in Konoha right now. If you had not protected him, he could have died…so thank you so much Hinata."

She had not expected that the guy she protected was Sasuke. She looked up once again and saw the thankful eyes of both Naruto and Sakura causing her to immediately blush. "U-Umm, you're welcome."

She felt warm hands on hers and realized that Sakura was still holding her hands.

"We're really thankful of what you did Hinata-chan!" Sakura told her before sighing, "Now, if only Sasuke-kun could appreciate his life more."

Hinata blinked. "What do you mean?"

"That bastard refuses to leave his house! He locks himself in every day and it's getting unhealthy! At this rate he could just die inside his house!" Naruto scoffed.

"O-Oh dear." Hinata gasped. Sasuke must not die inside his own house. The three Uchiha spirits wouldn't be able to move on like that!

"I'm even looking for a caretaker right now to keep an eye on him and take care of him since Sakura-chan and I can't be by his side forever. I ask Tsunade-baachan and she agrees! Now the problem is to find a good caretaker…" Naruto continued to ramble on.

Hinata's eyes shimmered with hope. This was her chance! This was her chance in getting to know Uchiha Sasuke and if she let go of this opportunity, she doubted she would be given another. She must grab it!

A little bit too excitedly, she grabbed Naruto's hands much to his surprise and looked at him expectantly. "N-Naruto-kun, you're looking for a caretaker for Uchiha-san?"

The blonde nodded, puzzled by her sudden boldness. "Y-Yea."

"Can I do it?"

"What? You want to be Sasuke's caretaker?" Naruto asked and the Hyuuga nodded.

"SERIOUSLY?" Naruto yelled.

"Hinata-chan, are you sure about this? You don't mind helping Sasuke-kun? He's not really a guy that's… easy to be with." Sakura told her fearing for the safety of the timid girl in front of her.

Hinata shook her head. "I want to help Uchiha-san. I want to help him achieve some sort of peace. At least, I want to try."

_I need to try, for the sake of the three Uchiha spirits. I must help them move on._

Naruto and Sakura stared at her in bewilderment before Naruto broke the silence. "Then what're we waiting for? Let's asks the old hag permission for right now!"

**xXXxXXxXXxXXxXXx**

Hinata shifted uncomfortably as she tried to avoid the Hokage's gaze. Tsunade was staring at her as if she had grown another head. She was not surprised though, after what she had just requested.

"Are you sure about this, Hinata?" Tsunade asked her sternly. Hinata just meekly nodded.

"Uchiha Sasuke isn't really an easy person to handle. If you accept this mission, be prepared to be drained, _both_ mentally and physically. I rather not have you face pressure so soon as you have only recently recovered, but when it comes to dealing with the Uchiha, pressure is definitely something you will encounter."

Hinata was starting to have doubts, but she finally found a chance to get to know him. She couldn't just back away now. "W-Well…"

Tsunade didn't let her complete her sentence.

"You should also know that by agreeing to this mission, Sasuke will be your responsibility until his probation ends. You will keep an eye on him, guard him when necessary and if he is assigned on a mission, you must accompany him. Due to this, I will not put you in any other missions. In other words, you'll be seeing him more than any other people in this village. You'll have to tolerate his rudeness, his anger and most of all, him being an asshole until his probation ends. Do you still want this, Hinata?"

"How long is his probation?"

"Who knows? It depends on how well he behaves. I can't tell you exactly how long, but I can tell the minimum length of his probation,"

"A-And that is?"

"Minimum is one year. It could be longer."

Her pale eyes widened. "One year?!"

"Yes, Hinata. If you accept this mission, you'll be stuck with Uchiha Sasuke for one year, or perhaps even _more_. So, do you still want this Hinata?" Tsunade eyed her carefully.

She badly wanted to think about it. She really wanted to weigh her options right now. Would she be able to handle Uchiha Sasuke for a year, or worse, maybe even more? She wasn't exactly confident with herself and she was having doubts.

She then felt the stares on her. Hesitantly, she turned towards the source and saw the three Uchiha ghosts staring at her intently. They were staring, but she could see that their eyes were _pleading_, pleading to her to accept because she was their only hope. She remembered her promise to them, her agreeing to help them move on and from their eyes, she knew they wanted to move on.

It pained them to be stuck here and it pained them _more_ knowing that the reason they were stuck here because the last Uchiha, their beloved Sasuke was bearing grudges and still lived in darkness, that their beloved Sasuke was struggling to find his own happiness. It pained them _greatly._

Just by looking at them, Hinata knew her answer. She had agreed to help them and she wasn't going to take back her words because that was her ninja way. With her new found resolve, she answered.

"I'll accept this mission."

Tsunade beamed at her confidence and her expression turned gentle. "I trust you'll be able to handle this Hinata. You're shy and timid, many might say you're weak but I believe you're not. I believed that that you've a hidden strength that many ninjas do not have. You're gentle and kind, but you know when to be firm. You're also patient and forgiving and perhaps someone like _you_ is what Uchiha Sasuke needs to stop being an asshole."

With a smile, Tsunade stamped the scroll and Hinata knew there's no turning back.

"Hyuuga Hinata, as of now, you're officially Uchiha Sasuke caretaker."

**xXXxXXxXXxXXxXXx**

He couldn't believe it, Naruto actually found him a caretaker. That bastard actually searched for a caretaker. As expected of Naruto to never go back to his words.

The blonde had practically barge into his house at 6am in the morning to tell him the 'good' news with Sakura apologizing behind repeatedly for disturbing him at an ungodly hour. They told him the caretaker would be coming today. They didn't tell him who it was and he couldn't be bothered to ask. Knowing that they had disturbed him at the wrong time, Sakura quickly dragged Naruto out, not before the blonde yelling at him to be nice the new caretaker.

After that, Sasuke couldn't sleep again. He remembered Naruto telling him to be nice to the caretaker and Sasuke smirked. Him,_ nice?_

Like hell he would.

He was already planning to make the caretaker's life miserable. He was going to make that person wished that he or she shouldn't even been born. Oh yes he was going to.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on his door, something which startled him. Sakura's knock wasn't that soft, Kakashi's knock would br way louder and Naruto didn't even bother to knock anymore and just barge in ever since Sasuke stopped opening the door for him. He never had any visitors except for those three. This could only mean that the person currently knocking was his new caretaker.

Frowning, he got up and opened the door with an irritated scowl. He saw the person flinched, a petite female who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but here right now. She was standing _very_ nervously and his eyes trailed up and saw her anxious face. It was only when he saw those pale eyes that he could tell who she was.

A Hyuuga.

With her midnight blue hair and an aura that exudes lack of confidence, he distinctly remembered her as the weird girl who stalked Naruto. Her first name was somewhere in the back of his mind, but he couldn't be bothered to search for it, nor could he be bothered to ask her for her name either.

The only thing he did was to stare at her intently with a scowl. By the way she flinched, he could tell that she was afraid. Good, he _wanted_ her to be afraid. He would love to see this timid woman run away from him in fear and never coming back. He wanted to _break_ her.

And he began by breaking the silence in a cold, malicious voice.

"Are you my caretaker?"

She flinched again before nodding. "Y-Yes I am. It's n-nice to meet you, Uchiha-san." She politely greeted.

Sasuke grimaced. "Screw you."

Hinata blinked. Sasuke cursed.

And he slammed his door shut right in front of her face.

.

.

.

Hinata wasn't_ really_ expecting a nice welcoming. In all honestly, she wasn't even expecting _any_ welcoming, but slamming his door shut right in front of her face was just downright _rude._

However, it was_ Uchiha Sasuke._

She now understood what Tsunade meant about him being an asshole. With a sigh, she contemplated to whether knock again or just walk away and leave him be. She could let him die in the house. It was not really her problem.

Oh she was so tempted to leave him alone. She really might have done that if not for the three ghosts standing behind her.

Their stares told her to prepare for life in the underworld.

Again, she shuddered at the thought. With a sigh, and rather reluctantly, Hinata stepped closer to the door.

"Well, since my son doesn't have proper manners, you can save precious time by not knocking and just break his door open." Fugaku suggested.

"Or if you want to be civil about it, my little brother hides his spare key inside that potted plant." Itachi told her pointing towards a certain plant. "You can use your Byakugan to check it out if you don't believe me."

She didn't even bother to activate her Byakugan. She knew Itachi wouldn't lie so she gently rummaged the potted plant until she found the spare key. She stared at the silver key before looking at the door. She repeated the process ten times.

"Is the key that fascinating?" Fugaku grumbled, annoyed.

"It's quite shiny actually." She answered.

"It's a goddamn key."

"Mine is quite rusty."

Fugaku rolled his eyes. Hinata sighed once more. She knew she was going to die anyway, so might as well make it quick.

"You can do it, Hinata-chan!" Mikoto encouraged as Hinata inserted the key in the hole.

With yet another sigh, Hinata unlocked the door and slowly entered.

The moment she stepped in, Hinata was sure she would meet her doom. She was pretty sure Sasuke was going to kill her.

But for some strange reason, she no longer gave a shit.

She had made a promise and she was going to fulfil it no matter how much of an asshole Uchiha Sasuke was.

Whatever it was, she was damn sure that this was going to be one_ hellish_ long year.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry. I was feeling depressed. Still am. But whatever.**

**I do not own Naruto. **

**Haunted by The Uchihas**

_**Chapter 3**_

_by deadly-chronicles_

The Hyuuga manor had always been a cold and quiet place. Hyuugas were after all distant, arrogant and usually downright cold and he had to admit that sometimes even he was like that. There was not a single tinge of warmness that could be felt and he honestly wondered how the Hyuugas could survive with such a cold and distant atmosphere every single day. Even he, the genius Hyuuga Neji, barely tolerated such coldness, but somehow he managed to live through it and it was all thanks to her presence- her being the ex-heiress as well as his precious cousin, Hyuuga Hinata.

Most people knew that Hinata wasn't like any other Hyuugas. While other Hyuugas were cold, egoistical, confident and even ruthless, Hinata was exact contrary. She was timid, shy and what many considered weak. She did not possess any skills and characteristics that all the other Hyuugas had, causing her to be an outcast in her own clan.

However, Neji knew better. While it was true that she didn't have the qualities of most Hyuugas, she also possessed qualities that all the other Hyuugas_ never had_. Unlike most Hyuugas, Hinata was kind, gentle and she always put others before herself. While most Hyuugas were cold, she was warm. Her chakra was calming which made her presence completely soothing, the reason why Neji was able to tolerate being in the Hyuuga manor.

His younger cousin's presence relaxed him and every time he returned from a mission, he actually looked forward to being greeted by her gentle and warm smile. Especially now after finally returning back home after a two-week long mission, Hyuuga Neji was actually looking forward to see his shy cousin again, except that this time, Hinata wasn't at the manor to greet him.

He didn't think much about it at first so he just decided to change and take the nap he so much deserved. However when lunch time arrived and he noticed that Hinata wasn't there to join them, he became worried. Part of him told him that perhaps she was on a mission, but his rational self reminded him that Hinata had just recovered. It was very unlikely for Tsunade to send her to a mission. When lunch was about to end and there was still no sign of Hinata, he decided to ask his other cousin who looked bored to death eating in front of him.

"Hanabi-sama, do you have any idea where Hinata-sama is right now? She didn't join us for lunch," Neji asked the current heiress.

Hanabi looked up and meet his gaze blankly though Neji did notice that she looked worried, "Ah, you haven't heard?"

Now he was confused. "Heard what?"

Hanabi sighed. "Aneki has been assigned as Uchiha Sasuke's caretaker. She has been taking care of him for two weeks now."

Hanabi thought that Neji's expression was priceless, his stoic demeanour completely forgotten as he stared at her in disbelief.

_"Excuse me?_" He managed to say in a calm tone, but Hanabi knew that Neji was everything else but calm right now.

It really amused her greatly how the usually stoic Neji would always display an immense amount of emotions whenever her elder sister was involved. She had always suspected that Neji had a sister complex whenever Hinata was involved, but she didn't expect it to be_ huge_. With a small smirk, Hanabi repeated herself just for the sake of infuriating him further.

"I'm saying that she has been assigned as Uchiha Sasuke's caretaker, which means she has been spending a _great deal_ lots of time-" Hanabi repeated herself but she didn't even have a chance to complete her sentence because just right after she mentioned Sasuke's name, her older cousin was no longer in front of her.

With a speed as fast as lightning, just by hearing Uchiha Sasuke's name, Hyuuga Neji straightaway bolted out of the manor.

**xXXxXXxXXxXXxXXx**

Uchiha Itachi couldn't decide whether Hinata was stubborn or brave, or perhaps both. He didn't know whether to applaud her for being brave, refusing to give up despite his little brother's attempts to kill her, or chide her for being stubborn by not giving up and nearly got herself killed.

"You know Hinata-chan, you're only his caretaker for two weeks, but you've already sustained more injuries than ninjas on normal missions," Itachi observed the pink haired medic as she treated the Hyuuga, "Perhaps we should stop this. You don't owe us anything. You don't have to help Sasuke-kun. We can always-"

"I want to do this, Sakura-san." Hinata cut her off. "After all, the attempts to kill were only last week. Uchiha-san hasn't done anything to harm me this week. _Not yet_." She chuckled.

"Why? Why are you trying to so hard to help Sasuke-kun?" Sakura questioned.

She had been wondering. Why was the shy and timid Hinata willing to go all the way to help someone she never even talked to before? Why was she trying so hard? While she was thankful to her for saving his life, she couldn't help but to wonder why she was doing this. "

Why are you doing this, Hinata-chan? Are you trying to achieve something?"

"I'm not trying to achieve anything." Hinata explained. "I've just… I made a promise."

"To who?"

Hinata didn't answer. Hearing her mentioning about the promise, Uchiha Itachi felt guilty and judging by his mother's worried expression as well as the way his father staggered a little by her words, he knew they felt the same way.

After all, it was their fault that she was currently injured. They were the ones who asked for her help. It was because of them that she was stuck with his unstable little brother. It was because she promised_ them_ that she refused to back away despite his little brother's constant attempts to get rid of her.

The Uchihas couldn't deny it. They had miscalculated Sasuke's mental stability when they asked this fragile and timid Hyuuga for help. Itachi knew that Sasuke was still not sane, but he hadn't expected him to be insane enough to attempt to kill Hinata for a whole week _straight_.

Honestly, if it wasn't for him, mother and father, Hinata could have died. It was because of their warnings to where Sasuke might attack from was why the Hyuuga was still even breathing right now. The three Uchihas acted as her extra eyes and thanks to that, she was still _alive._

Itachi remembered the first day where Hinata stepped inside Sasuke's apartment using the spare key, Sasuke had kicked her out of the house_ literally._ She came back a few hours later wrapped in some bandages of course to make lunch for his little brother and his little brother actually sneaked up to her and tried to slash her with a kunai. Thank goodness he had seen him sneaking up, allowing him warn Hinata, and she was able to efficiently avoid the attack.

When Tsunade mentioned that his little brother was an asshole, she really meant it because it didn't stop there. Ever since the first day, it had been a week of constant tortures and attempt killings. His little brother seemed vehement in wanting to get rid of her. Sasuke could appear out of nowhere and throw a few punches here and there or worst still, attacked her using his sword. He tried using Chidori, and he even tried to cast a genjutsu on her. For that one whole week, Uchiha Sasuke practically tried so many ways in an attempt to scare her till she ran away, or maybe to even kill her. However for that one whole week, Hinata never once faltered and she used it as a platform to test her vigilance.

Thankfully for them though, after the week ended, Sasuke just stopped and just locked himself inside his own room, but that didn't stop Hinata or any of them from staying alert. Uchiha Sasuke was full of surprises after all. Yet, what surprised Itachi more was that despite all those attempted killings, Hinata kept on returning _again and again_, making breakfasts, lunches and dinners for his little brother and even cleaning his apartment.

Itachi was an observant man. After all that had happened, Itachi could tell that she was afraid of Sasuke, but despite her fear, she never ran away. Even though it was also obvious that Sasuke didn't want her as a caretaker, never once did she gave up. It was making Uchiha Itachi wonder if she was just brave or plain stubborn, or perhaps both.

"Ah! I should go now to prepare lunch for Uchiha-san!" Hinata chirped. "Thank you for your help, Sakura-san."

Itachi saw how the pink haired medic looked at the Hyuuga with worry before sighing. "Hinata-chan, if it's too much for you, you can always back away…"

Hinata didn't say anything. She merely gave her a polite bow and a gentle smile before making her way towards Sasuke's apartment. As she walked in silence with three ghosts grimly following her behind, Itachi decided to let his thoughts be heard.

"Why?"

The Hyuuga stopped and looked at him with confused eyes. Her pale white eyes met with his dark and intense ones.

Heaving out a sigh, he continued. "Why did you keep on trying? My little brother tried to kill you, but you didn't run away. You kept on coming back. Why? Why are you trying so hard for my little brother, one whom you are not even close with?"

Silence surrounded them before her lips curved into a small smile. "It's because I've made a promise, Uchiha-san. I've made a promise to help all of you move on. I've made promise to help your little brother and I'm not going to go back to my word, because that's my way of ninja."

She then paused and looked at the clear sky before she continued. "Besides, if I give up, now you think I will be happy knowing that the three of you are still trapped in this world? It'll be selfish of me to run away just because I'm afraid when the fact is you are suffering even more. It must be painful to know that the reason you can't move on is because a love one is hurting. That's why… as long as I've the means to, I want to help."

He was genuinely surprised that she didn't even stutter once as she spoke to him. At that moment, Itachi finally understood. She was _both_ brave and stubborn. Hinata may appear timid, shy and weak, the complete opposite of his little brother, but she has an unspoken quality that many do not have. Sincerity. The happiness of others was her own and she wouldn't stop till she help them gain it.

Hyuuga Hinata may seemed like a fragile and weak girl, but Itachi couldn't care less as this timid woman had earned his utmost respect, and to him, perhaps her gentle nature could be that _one_ thing that his little brother needed.

**xXXxXXxXXxXXxXXx**

His new caretaker could actually be the death of him.

Uchiha Sasuke had to admit that he had underestimated her. With her fragile looks plus her timid and soft nature, he had thought that she would be hell easy to get rid of, but he was proven wrong as the timid little creature was stubborn as hell.

He remembered the first day she came where he had slammed the door right at her face, she actually had the courage to enter his house again with his freaking _spare key._ He was so pissed that he literally kicked her out of his house. He had obviously expected her not to return, however a few hours later, she actually came back and made lunch for him as though he hadn't injured her at all. Ever since then, he vowed to make her life miserable and son began his attempts to get rid of her.

He used kunai, his sword and even Chidori and attacked her from _everywhere_, but for some strange reason, she could somehow evade all his attacks. It made him wonder whether this weak-looking Hyuuga could actually read his mind because the way she avoided all his attacks, it was as though she had eyes everywhere.

Sasuke was a prideful man. He firmly believed that he was still as skillful and agile as when he was still an avenger. If there was nothing wrong with his skills, it could only mean that the Hyuuga could indeed see through him, but how? Curious, he began the series of random attacks on her, one reason was to confirm his theory, and another reason was because he was an asshole and he wanted to make her life miserable.

One whole week was filled with his killing attempts while she tried hard to stay alive. Honestly, he thought that by making her life miserable, she would give up and run away in fear, but she didn't. No matter how scary or violent he had acted, she kept on coming back again and again. When a week passed and he still couldn't figure out why she could see through his moves while she displayed no signs of quitting, Uchiha Sasuke actually _gave up._

Her stubbornness had tired him greatly to the point that he just decided to stop trying and simply locked himself in his own room. He figured that if force couldn't get rid of her, perhaps his stubborness would. After all, there was nothing much she could do if he refused to go out of his own room, right?

Unfortunately for him, he was wrong because it didn't stop her at all.

While he locked himself inside his room, the Hyuuga actually fulfilled her duties perfectly. She cleaned up his house and even cooked meals for him on time. Whenever she was done cooking, she would knock on his door softly where he made no attempts to open it. Knowing that he wouldn't bother to open his door, she would just leave the tray of food outside.

At first, he decided to be an asshole and refused to eat any of her cooking. However, after a while the smell of her cooking became too much for even him to resist because they smelled good and they even tasted great. It also didn't help much that she seemed to cook all his favourite dishes. He wondered if she was actually a fangirl, but at that moment he couldn't care anymore because her dishes were simply _outstanding._

However, he still decided to act like an asshole and refused to leave his room wanting to make her deliver the food right to his door. A new week hence began where he stayed lock up inside his own room while she cook and clean the house for him. They never once interacted because he didn't bother to go out while she never once forced him to go out. _Well, at least she was not forceful like some girls._

Also, even though he stayed in his room most of the time she was in the house, he couldn't help but notice something weird about the Hyuuga and that was the fact that she was always talking to herself._  
><em>

He was very well aware that the only people in this apartment was her and him, but he always seemed to hear her talking to someone when there was no one else here except for him. She wasn't definitely talking to him, so who was she talking too?

At first, he thought he was just imagining it, but as days passed, he could still hear her having a conversation on her own. Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to check it out. Stealthily, he made his way towards the kitchen. Once there, the scene didn't surprise him one bit. Just as he had expected, the Hyuuga was indeed talking to herself.

"Soup… Onigiri?" Hinata pondered to herself. "Hmmm… Or perhaps rice?"

"What about Tomato Soup?" Mikoto suggested.

"But I've already made tomato soup for lunch…" She mumbled. "Ah, maybe I should try Onigiri."

"Aww Hinata-chan, just make anything! I'm sure he'll eat it. He ate everything you've made so far even though he locked himself in his room." Mikoto said.

"Ah, but still… I should try and make something nice…"

Mikoto giggled. "Aww, Hinata-chan. You're fussing over his food and it's so adorable! You're just like a wife and I definitely approve of you to be my daughter-in law! Right Fugaku?"

"Hn."

"W-Wife?" Hinata blushed. "D-Daughter in-law?"

"Mother, if you embarrassed her any further, she might faint." Itachi reminded them.

Sasuke observed silently as the girl continued to talk to herself before she suddenly turned bright red and started wobbling. He wasn't dumb, he was very sure that the Hyuuga was about to faint and that was definitely something he could not afford. He absolutely didn't want an unconscious Hyuuga in his house. Wanting to avoid such detestable situation, he decided to make his presence known.

"Hyuuga." His cold voice echoed throughout. The Hyuuga immediately snapped out of her wobbly spells and almost instantaneously, she was already on a defensive stance.

_Interesting,_ he had thought.

"U-Uchiha-san." She greeted wide eyed, obviously surprised by who it was. "What're you doing here?"

"It's_ my_ house." He growled.

"Oh." She dumbly replied.

Silence surrounded them and Hinata mentally cursed herself for not being a conversationalist. Here was Uchiha Sasuke finally out of his room after one whole week and she had no idea how to keep the conversation going.

"Does… tomato soup sounds nice for lunch?" She asked trying to start a conversation. When he didn't answer, she sighed and continued, "If you don't want it, I can make something else-"

"It's fine."

She smiled slightly. "I'll serve you a bowl right now."

Humming a soft tune, she happily scooped some soup into a bowl before nervously serving the soup to Sasuke who was currently glaring at her. She wondered if he would just take the bowl and locked himself in his room again, but to her relief, he didn't. He actually sat down at the dining table even though far away from her, but without a doubt, it was better than nothing. At least now he was outside and she would definitely have a better chance talking to him when he's not locked in his room.

"U-Umm, how is it?"

He didn't answer and continue sipping his soup. Again, Hinata sighed at the thought of getting him to have a conversation with her. It seemed_ impossible,_ given the fact that both of them were…_ socially awkward_.

Negative thoughts filled her mind, thoughts such as she was not suitable for this job and that the last Uchiha would be better off with someone more sociable as a caretaker. The thoughts continued to consume her that she was unaware that he had spoken.

"Hyuuga!" He snapped, irritated that she had ignored him the first time.

"S-Sorry! My mind was elsewhere!" She apologized repeatedly. "What were you s-saying U-Uchiha-san?"

"Who were you talking too?"

"E-Eh?"

"You were talking to someone just now, though there's no one there." He deadpanned.

Her face immediately paled. "Umm, u-umm, it was my imaginary friend?"

His face remained impassive, but she could tell that he didn't believe her at all. Who would believe such excuse in the first place? The way he was looking at her; his obsidian eyes were staring deep into her pales ones as though he wanted to _devour_ her. She did say that she wanted a conversation, but definitely _not this._ She was absolutely not ready to be interrogated by the Uchiha. She wondered if there was ways to escape his questioning glare and thank goodness once again, her wish was answered, this time in the form of the loud knocking from the door.

"I'll go get it." She stood up immediately wanting to escape his glare. She headed towards the door to open it and her eyes widened at the unexpected visitor.

"Neji-niisan?"

"Hinata-sama!" Neji bolted right in and grabbed the petite female, looking at her with worry.

"Neji-niisan, what're you doing here?"

"I've heard about your new mission and I'm worried about your safety, Hinata-sama." Neji told her.

Hinata smiled slightly. "Do not worry. I'm fine."

Neji gave her an incredulous look before shooting a warning glare towards the Uchiha. "If you dare hurt Hinata-sama, I'll make sure you won't stay alive."

"You should've come one week _earlier,_" Sasuke provoked with a smirk.

"Why you-" Neji was about to lunge at him, but was stopped by Hinata who placed her hands on his cheeks.

"I'm fine Neji-niisan. Do not worry." Hinata tried to appease him, not wanting a fight to break out between the Uchiha and her cousin. She gave her cousin a pleading look. "Trust me, okay?"

Neji sighed and reluctantly agreed. "All right, Hinata-sama. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask me."

"Thank you Neji-niisan." She smiled. He returned her smile slightly before glaring at the Uchiha one final time and left. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief before closing the door. She threw an apologetic look to the Uchiha and bowed politely. "I-I'm really sorry about that."

"He seems protective." Sasuke murmured much to her surprise.

Hinata blinked. "Eh, yea he is…"

"If I remembered correctly, he used to hate you a lot."

"O-Oh." She fidgeted nervously. "People can change, Uchiha-san."

She was surprised when he was suddenly in front of her. When he had moved, she had no idea, but now he was in front of her, their faces barely inches apart and she gasped as he roughly gripped the back of her head. His hand roughly clutched her hair as he forced her to look at him. She winced in pain, but his expression held no remorse and sympathy.

"Do you think I can change?" He coldly asked.

She tried to even out her breathing and accidentally looked away from his gaze. It was the wrong move as the moment her eyes left his, his grip on her hair tightened forcing her to look at him again.

"I-I t-think you can, U-Uchiha-san."

"What makes you so sure?"

She gulped before speaking again. "Everyone can change, U-Uchiha-san. The only ones that is stopping us from changing is ourselves."

He frowned slightly at her statement before his lips curved into a small smirk, noticing that she was shuddering under his clutches. "You're afraid of me, Hyuuga."

She tensed slightly at his obvious statement. His rough grip on her hair still hadn't loosened. "I-I'll admit that I am, Uchiha-san, but that doesn't mean I should run away from you."

"What if I want you to run away? What if I want to continue to make your life miserable ?" He asked her coldly, his other free hand roughly clutching her slender small neck now. One snap and he could easily kill her. "You'll definitely run away, Hyuuga. Like the weak little girl you are._"_

She choked finding it harder to breathe since he was nearly strangling her. She tried to find her voice, and she finally did not caring that it sounded hoarse. "T-Then, I'll take them all in."

He gave her a questioning look. She was still struggling to speak, but she continued.

"I know y-you're an angry man, Uchiha-san. You make others miserable because you're angry. You want them to feel your pain. T-That's why, I'll take them all in. A-As your caretaker and a-acquaintance, I'll take all your anger in…."

His eyes widened a fraction and for once, she could see some emotions in it. It didn't last long though as few seconds later, it was blank once more. He roughly let go of her causing her to stumble back, nearly falling down in the process. He glared at her one final time before stomping into his room and slammed the door shut, leaving Hinata alone in the kitchen gasping for air.

"Hinata-chan! Are you all right?" Mikoto glided towards her. "I'm so sorry. We're so sorry…."

"If it continues like this, Sasuke can kill her." Fugaku grimaced. "Forget the promise to us, Hyuuga. We won't even bother to drag you to the underworld. Treasure your life." Fugaku ordered.

"I refuse." Hinata stubbornly declared.

"Hyuuga-san, if you get fatally injured trying to fulfil the promise, we won't be able to forgive ourselves.

"We're dead, you're_ alive_. Your life is much more important." Itachi told her.

"It's not about the promise anymore."

The three ghosts looked at her, puzzled by her statement. "Hinata-chan?"

"He's in pain. His eyes… They were in pain." Hinata murmured rubbing her neck.

Surely, there was a bruise, but right now she didn't care. Those eyes she had seen, it made her realized how much of a broken man Uchiha Sasuke was. In those few seconds where she saw emotions in his eyes, she could see the anger, hatred, resentment, pain, but most of all… confusion.

At that moment, it didn't matter if she had promise the three Uchihas or not, because seeing those eyes, she realised that Uchiha Sasuke really needed help. She couldn't just run away. It wouldn't be right to leave a broken man alone.

And Uchiha Sasuke was _definitely_ a broken man.

**xXXxXXxXXxXXxXXxXXx**

She had practically offered to be his punching bag. Well, she didn't really exactly say it, but by saying that she would take all his anger in, it was similar. He was confused. Why was she helping him? Why would she go all the way to even willingly take his anger in? But most importantly, why didn't he_ kill_ her? He could have just break her neck just now, but he didn't. _Why?_

"_Everyone can change, U-Uchiha-san. The only ones that is stopping us from changing is ourselves."_

Ah yes, because of that.

Because she believed that everyone could change, even a _bastard_ like him. What a fool for her to believe in the goodness of all, even him. He tried to kill her, but she didn't run away. She could have escaped but she kept on coming back.

_What a fool._

She was an utter fool, a complete fool for putting his anger over her own life. She was just a complete _fool._ .

"That Hyuuga is definitely a fool," he mused, "but also strange."

_"I know you're an angry man, Uchiha-san. You make others miserable because you're angry. You want them to feel your pain. That's why, I'll take them all in. As your caretaker and a-acquaintance, I'll take all y-your anger in…."_

As he recalled her words, Uchiha Sasuke grimaced. The Hyuuga was definitely one strange creature


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**You know, I am always fascinated when I see the stats and I notice quite a number of readers from my country. I mean, my country is really small, so I did not expect anyone to read Sasuhina. But hey, I was proven wrong. So Singaporean readers, don't be shy ok. Let yourself be known. Lol. **

**Of course, I appreciate all of you. Just really curious, you know? **

**Haunted by The Uchihas**

**Chapter 4**

_by deadly-chronicles_

Hyuuga Hinata was utterly_ miserable._ Ever since the confrontation with Sasuke where he nearly choked her to death, Sasuke had locked himself in his room once again, not bothering to go out anymore when she was in the house. It was making her_ depressed._ It wasn't because she was some heartbroken lovesick girl because their crush was downright ignoring them. No, it wasn't like that. She was positively sure that she held no romantic interests or feelings towards the Uchiha.

Yet, she couldn't stop herself from feeling down when the Uchiha chose to lock himself once again because it made her feel useless. She had seen the pain in his eyes and she wanted to help him. She wanted to reach out to him, but it was impossible since he kept staying away. Even though he had locked himself in, she did her best in making him comfortable by making his favourite dishes and cleaned the house regularly to make it homely. While part of her wasn't expecting anything by doing those things, part of her was wishing that one day the Uchiha would just magically go out of his room and she would have her chance to get to know him, but of course that did not happen.

Unbeknownst to her though, the reason Sasuke was locking himself up was due to his inner turmoil. He had to admit, ever since the Hyuuga had said that she would take all his anger in, he had been confused. The Hyuuga's presence itself was confusing. She didn't run away when he tried to kill her. He knew that she was afraid of him with the way her body tensed when he approached her. It was obvious that she feared him, but yet she still didn't run away, and now she offered to take all his anger in?

Adding on to his confusion and irritation, her presence somehow reminded him of his mother and he _despised_ it. Her gentle nature, the way she provided him with all his favourite dishes in hoping to make him feel better, and the way she cleaned his house to make it more comfortable for him, it sickly reminded him of his mother. How could someone he barely had acknowledged before this reminded him of his dead mother just by the way she acted?

In the two weeks she had been in his apartment, she had successfully made it more homely than the three months Naruto and Sakura had spent coming over. How was that even possible? This Hyuuga was strange. It annoyed him greatly that she refused to run away even though he scared her. It annoyed him more that even when he was downright avoiding her, she refused to give up. He very well knew that he couldn't run away forever. Since scaring her away didn't work, and avoiding her didn't work either, why not face her head on? After all, she did offer to take all his anger in, meaning being his punching bag in his definition, so why not stop avoiding her, accept the fact that he was stuck with her and just confront her?

After much thought, and with a scowl, Sasuke finally got out of his room.

"Hinata-chan, don't be depressed. It doesn't suit you!" Mikoto muttered out cheerfully. "A smile suits you more! Your smile is as bright as the suns, so please don't be depressed."

Hinata sighed dejectedly, shrugging her shoulders downwards. "I'm such a failure…"

"To make you feel better, at least he _did_ talk to you, though he nearly choked you to death." Fugaku told her only to be given a warning glare by Mikoto when Hinata shrank. "But it is_ still_ progress." He later added on.

"Hyuuga-san. Don't be upset. At least, he ate all the dishes you made. That means _something_, Hyuuga-san." Itachi tried to comfort her.

"But still…" Hinata sighed again, "I want to help him, but I'm going nowhere with this…"

"You're talking to yourself again."

"It makes me feel better," she answered before her eyes immediately widened realizing who it was. She abruptly turned around to face him, nearly falling down in the process and stared at the said male, "U-Uchiha-san!"

His face remained blank. "Hyuuga."

"Is there anything you need?"

"Let's spar."

"E-Eh?"

"I said," he repeated, rather annoyed, "let's spar."

Hinata blinked. "But why?"

Sasuke frowned. "Because I want to. And I won't take no for an answer." He coldly warned.

Hinata flinched. Hesitantly, she nodded. "O-Okay." She nervously answered.

Sasuke smirked.

**.**

**.**

**.**

To him, sparring was one way to answer his questions. He was still curious as to how she had managed to avoid all his fatal attacks when he had tried to kill her. This sparring session could be a way to find out whether she could indeed read his moves, or whether it was just a fluke.

He was excited. It had been a while since he had last sparred, and he was eager to test his skills again. He had to admit that locking himself in his room wasn't healthy.

He was thrilled to be able to spar, though the same couldn't be said about his current sparring partner. Just by one look, he could tell that she was nervous, perhaps even terrified. He wasn't surprised. In fact, he enjoyed it, seeing her flinched like a pathetic girl. He did after all tried to kill her for one week straight. Her reaction was only natural.

However, there was no way he was going to be considerate about her feelings right now. She offered to take in his anger and he was simply just taking up her offer.

Indeed Hyuuga Hinata was currently nervous, perhaps even afraid, but she damn had a valid reason for feeling that way. She believed Sasuke had an ulterior reason for wanting to spar. It was either he was just plain bored or this was going to be his new method of torture. She was really trying to be positive and believed that he was just plain bored. Also, she kept on convincing herself that this was a good thing. Sasuke had been locked in for too long. He needed to get out, he needed the sun and if sparring could help her in getting him out of the house, then she would gladly do it even if she got herself badly injured in the process.

"Umm, U-Uchiha-san?"

"What?" He snapped.

"How do you want this sparring to work?" She asked and when he gave her a blank look, she decided to explain. "I mean, are you allowing weapons and jutsus? Or simply hand to hand?"

"Oh. All out. Weapons, jutsus or whatever. They're all allowed." He smirked. "Ready, Hyuuga?"

She nervously nodded. "Y-Yes."

He didn't even give her a chance to calm herself as the moment she said yes, he had instantaneously disappeared. He then appeared right in front of her again, giving her a punch that sent her flying to the other side before disappearing once more. Wincing, she forced herself up only to realize that he was nowhere to be seen. Activating her byakugan, she scanned her surroundings. If she couldn't see him, perhaps she could see his trailing chakra…

Once again, he appeared right in front of her, but this time she managed to detect his chakra on time and clumsily evaded his hit. He vanished once again and she couldn't help but frown. He was fast, extremely fast, and much faster than anyone she had ever faced and to think that he was handicapped since he couldn't activate his Sharingan.

"Hinata-chan! Behind you!" Mikoto yelled. Instantly, Hinata turned around and managed to avoid another that.

"Left!" Fugaku told her. "No, right!"

She spun around trying to avoid both strikes. After that, it became a series of random punches while she avoided all of them, some due to her natural instincts and some thanks to the warnings from the three Uchihas.

However, it didn't change the fact that Uchiha Sasuke was faster than her. At this rate, she wouldn't even have the chance to lay a finger on him. He moved as fast as lightning, maybe even faster and as helpless as it was, the only thing she could do now was to dodge. She hated it. She had improved throughout the years but sparring with Uchiha Sasuke made her feel that she was still not up to level, that she was still_ weak._

Meanwhile, Uchiha Sasuke was having the time of his life. It was the most interesting thing he had ever done ever since returning to the village. The Hyuuga wasn't really a bad sparring partner. She was alert, her moves were smooth but to him, she was just damn slow. Perhaps it was because he was just too fast, but he couldn't care. Shinobis were supposed to be fast and this Hyuuga must work on her speed. To her credit , she did manage to evade all his attacks confirming his speculation that she could read his moves.

However, he wasn't just going to give in to that speculation just like that. This final strike would ensure whether his speculation was real, or her evasion was all a fluke. Increasing his speed, he jumped up high and disappeared.

Glancing to her right and left, she wondered where he would strike next. She couldn't feel his presence on the ground. That would mean …

_Up above?_ She wondered.

She observed the higher grounds more as she sensed his familiar chakra in the air. However, she was still not sure of his direction. She knew he would strike from above, but that man was extremely fast that he could strike from anywhere.

She stayed on alert when she felt his chakra behind her and Itachi's yelling confirmed her senses.

"Hyuuga-san! Above from behind!" He warned her.

Hastily, she spun around and as she had expected, Sasuke was above with a kunai at hand preparing to attack her. Evasion was no use now because she wouldn't make it on time. By instinct, she whipped out a kunai, used her left hand as defense and when her byakugan detected an opening, she flung her right arm forward. Stunned, Sasuke used his right arm to protect his chest from the strike, only for it to be stabbed by the kunai in the process.

The next few seconds were filled with silence. Sasuke was shocked while Hinata blinked repeatedly wondering what the hell happened. It was only when she felt his blood dripping onto her hands that she realized what she had done.

Blinking again, her face turned horrified. "I-I'm so sorry!"

However, Sasuke had not heard her. In his mind, he was still trying to accept the fact that this supposedly _weak _Hyuuga could actually read his moves.

**.**

**.**

**.**

The Hyuuga actually stabbed him. That timid little creature actually managed to stab him. He was surprised. Honestly, he hadn't expected her to lay a finger on him at all. When she actually did stab him, he was stunned to the point that he couldn't utter a single word.

He had no idea what happened after that. He was somewhat shocked that his mind went blank. When he snapped back to reality, he realized that he was already in his room with the Hyuuga fussing over his wound.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stab you." She bit her lip and apologized as she bandaged up his wound. "I-I'm so sorry…"

"Hyuuga, stop apologizing and shut up." He snapped, slightly irritated by her apologetic ways. She did shut up, but he could tell that she was still feeling guilty from her eyes. Scratching his head in frustration, he sighed. "Look Hyuuga, it's a sparring session. Those that spar are _bound_ to get injured, so stop blaming yourself. It's annoying."

Her eyes widened a fraction as though shocked that he was trying to convince her that it wasn't her fault. Even he was surprised himself.

Her lips curved into a thin smile as she wrapped his right arm with the final bandages. Her touches were professional, no lingering touches here and there like what some medic fangirls did when they treated him. Hers were strictly professional where her hands touched where she was supposed to, and even then, her hands didn't linger long. He appreciated that, somehow knowing that there was finally someone who could treat him without him feeling uncomfortable. Well, there was Sakura and even though she didn't shower him with attention ever since he returned, she used to be a fangirl and he being Uchiha Sasuke couldn't help but to still feel wary. However, this Hyuuga didn't seem interested in touching him at all. While she treated his wound, he felt that her touches were distant and he liked it that way. It was nice to know someone that was not trying to molest him_  
><em>

You can read my moves." Sasuke decided to break the silence while she healed him.

"E-Eh?"

He stared intently at her. "Just now when we sparred, you avoided all my attacks. It seems like you can read my moves. How?"

She fidgeted nervously. "I-I've sixth sense I guess?" She answered him hoping he would ask no longer. It wasn't really a lie. She _did_ have a sixth sense. She _was_ currently seeing_ three Uchiha ghosts._

Thankfully for her, he didn't pursue the topic further, but his expression told her that he still had a hard time believing it. He stayed quiet after that and at that point, she was more than happy to let the silence lingered.

"I'm done. Don't move your right arm too much for now."

"Hn." Was all he said. He didn't even bother to thank her. He didn't even look at her and chose to stare out of the window instead.

"Is there anything specific cravings you want for lunch? I can make them for you… as an apology for injuring you." She asked, looking up hesitantly to face him.

When he didn't answer and continue to stare out of the window, Hinata heaved out a dejected sigh and quietly made her way out of his room.

"Onigiri." He suddenly said right before she left his room, standing right at his door now. "I want to eat onigiri."

_"With tomatoes fillings…"_ Mikoto whispered to her.

"With tomatoes fillings?" She asked the Uchiha.

His eyes widened slightly and he turned away and stare at the window once again as a little childhood memory filled his mind. There was a pregnant pause before he spoke again. "That'll… be nice."

"Then I'll make them for you." She murmured softly with a small smile and bowed politely before she made her way out.

"Hyuuga." He called out right before she could step out of his room. She turned to face him again looking rather confused.

"Yes, U-Uchiha-san?"

This time he was looking straight into her eyes and she swore there was a small smirk on his face. "Next time we spar, I'm not going to hold back."

She had no idea whether to smile because he was now talking to her or felt threatened over the fact that he had been holding back just now. However, knowing that this was progress, Hyuuga Hinata chose to smile.

**.**

**.**

**.**

He wasn't kidding when he said he wasn't going to hold back the next time they sparred. When his right arm had healed, he had requested another sparring session and he was_ relentless_. His speed had somehow increased tenfolds, his strength now stronger as his hit was more painful and he didn't seem to get tired, _ever_.

It came to the point where Hinata would spar with him till she was completely exhausted. He didn't seem to notice this though, or perhaps he just didn't care. Whatever it was, sparring with Sasuke every single day was draining her both mentally and physically.

She was surprised she was even still alive. After driven to complete exhaustion every single day, she honestly thought that she wouldn't be able to wake up anymore, that she would just die in her sleep and join the three Uchiha ghosts the next day as a spirit herself. Obviously, she didn't die, because she was very much alive now, unfortunately.

"Hinata-chan!~ Hinata-chan!~ Time to wake up dear~" Mikoto tried to wake her up.

"Mother?" Hinata groggily answered. "Ten more minutes. I'm tired…"

Mikoto looked at the shy kunoichi fondly. She was probably half-conscious to call her mother, but she must have missed her so much to mention her mother. She sighed. She would love to give her ten more minutes, but the knocking was getting louder. Knowing that calling her out wouldn't wake her up, she decided to test something out.

Hinata jolted upwards wide awake when she felt her bed shaking abruptly. She looked around absolutely confused and panicky wondering if there was an earthquake, but when the shaking stopped, she was greeted by the grin of the female Uchiha.

"W-What's that?" Hinata asked, widely awake now.

"Spiritual energy." Mikoto grinned. "You know in horror stories, there's always something about objects flying by themselves. Apparently, they are caused by spiritual energies from ghosts like us. I just used my spiritual energy to wake you up by shaking your bed… vigorously."

Hinata continued to blink. "Oh." Honestly, she had no idea what else to say.

"You should've let her sleep more, mother. Hyuuga-san looked worn out." Itachi appeared and glided towards them.

"I would love to!" Mikoto pouted. "But someone has been knocking on your room door, and it's driving me insane!"

"Room door?" Just as she said that, she heard the knockings Mikoto was talking about.

"It's your cousin," Fugaku appeared and told her.

Looking at herself and figured that she was decent enough, Hinata got out of her bed and opened the door.

"Neji-niisan?"

"Hinata-sama," Neji bowed, "my apologies for waking you up, but I'm here to tell you that your teammates are here. Should I send them here or do you want to greet them yourself?"

Her eyes widened at the mention of her teammates. It was surprising that they decided to come over, but then again, she hadn't seen them once ever since she became Sasuke's caretaker. They must have been worried.

Guilt filled her heart as she thought about it. She should have told them in some way so they wouldn't worry about her, but she feared their overprotective reactions. Before she knew it, it was already one month and now they were at the manor looking for her because obviously they were worried. She was feeling extremely horrible right now, but no point regretting now, she had told herself.

"Can you tell them to wait for a while, Neji-niisan? I'll have to change first. I'll come to greet them once I'm done." She told her elder cousin. He nodded in acknowledgment and left giving her the privacy she needed to change.

She didn't take long to change. Kiba and Shino had waited so long for her and she didn't want to keep them waiting any longer. Once she was done, she headed outside and smiled when she heard the familiar barking of Akamaru.

"Hinata!" Kiba rushed to her and practically crushed her into his embrace.

"K-Kiba-kun!" She blushed. She was slowly getting used to Kiba's physical contact, but it was still embarrassing since he was still a guy and she was just shy.

"It's been a while, Hinata." Shino approached them and told Kiba to let go of her or he might break her bones and so Kiba reluctantly did. "You look tired."

Hinata chuckled. "I haven't had a good rest nowadays."

True. Ever since the three ghosts appeared, she couldn't sleep well due to her self-consciousness, and now Sasuke was driving her to exhaustion, intentionally or not she didn't know, but whatever it was, she couldn't remember the last time she had a good night rest.

Shino decided not to pursue it further and change the subject. "Where have you been? We didn't see you for one month."

"Yea man! Do you know how worried we were? Man, we freaked out and thought you were hospitalized again or something!" Kiba hollered.

"I-I'm so sorry…" Hinata murmured apologetically. "Tsunade-sama assigned me on a mission and it's very…_ time consuming._"

"Mission?" Kiba stared at her confused. "But I thought Tsunade wasn't going to send you to any mission since you have just recovered."

"Well, it's a mission inside the village so…"

"Mission inside the village? Man, what mission is it?" Kiba blinked and then his eyes gleamed while Shino looked at her with interest as well.

Hinata took a deep breath and poked her two index fingers together nervously. She fidgeted causing Kiba and Shino to look at her with worry wondering what was she anxious about. Taking another deep breath, she finally spoke. "Umm, t-taking care of U-Uchiha Sasuke. I'm his c-caretaker now. F-For about a month already."

Hinata wondered if Kiba and Shino actually heard her because they simply stared at her blankly. She had to activate her byakugan to check if their hearts were still beating because they didn't move at all. Right after breaking the news, Kiba and Shino were still like stones.

"Umm, Kiba-kun? Shino-kun?" Hinata waved at them but again, they didn't react. She began to worry. It didn't last long though as it was broken by laughter. Kiba's laughter.

"Man, Hinata! Even in a time like this, you can still crack jokes. I almost believe you man!" Kiba laughed loudly clutching his stomach. Shino on the other hand didn't look amused at all.

Kiba continued laughing, but when he noticed Hinata fidgeting nervously again and all panicky, he knew then that she was _serious_. His eyes widened. "NO. FREAKING .WAY."

"I-It's the truth…"

Now Kiba was furious. "SERIOUSLY? OF ALL THE SHINOBIS IN KONOHA, TSUNADE-SAMA SENT _YOU_ TO TAKE CARE OF _THE_ UCHIHA SASUKE? MAN, THAT GUY IS A _PSYCHO._ WHAT WAS THE HOKAGE THINKING?"

"W-Well technically…" Hinata fidgeted again. "I-I was the one that offered."

If Kiba was furious just a few seconds ago, now he was _enraged._ Shino was still silent, but Hinata could sense the killer aura the bug user was emitting.

"Hinata! Are. You. Insane?" Kiba screamed at her. "What were you thinking offering to be Sasuke's caretaker? That guy has big issues, man. He will definitely kill you!"

"K-Kiba-kun.."

But Kiba didn't let her speak. He continued on rambling. "Oh Kami, when I first joined team 8, I thought you guys were weird. Then we bonded and you guys had become my precious friends. You know Hinata? One of my dreams was to see you, my precious friend grows up and gets married to a guy. You'll get pregnant and I'll be the godfather of your child! But now that dream can be shattered anytime because you might die being Sasuke's caretaker!" He sniffed and Akamaru whined besides him. Shino was still silent.

"Kiba-kun, it… isn't that bad." Hinata placed her hands gently on his arm and smiled thinly. "Besides, even if I wasn't Uchiha-san's caretaker, I might still die on other missions, so it doesn't really make much difference, right?"

Kiba opened his mouth to argue but realizing that she was right, he shut it again and grimaced. "Hinata. Tell me." Kiba then said with his tone much serious now. "Is he the reason why you look tired right now?"

When Hinata didn't answer, Kiba bolted right up, his expression furious. "That's it. I'm going to kill him right now."

"Wait, Kiba-kun, stop!" Hinata grabbed his arm and pleaded. "You too, Shino-kun!" She requested. Even though the bug user was still silent and unmoving, Hinata could tell that his insects were already halfway towards Uchiha Sasuke's apartment.

"Why are you so set in helping him, Hinata?" Kiba frowned.

"I-I… H-He… He's no different from any of us. I think he's just… misunderstood. I… I just want him to have a second chance…" She looked down sadly.

When silence loomed over them, she wondered if her teammates would force her to quit. She really didn't want that to happen, but she didn't want to hurt her teammates either. Hinata inwardly sighed. Why was she always like this?

"There's no changing your mind isn't it?" Shino broke the silence. Hinata looked at him and shook her head.

"If there's one thing I learn about you Hinata in all our years together as a team, if you are set on something, you will try your very best to achieve it, even if it might cost your own life."

Hinata stayed silent. Shino continued. "I will not stop you from being the Uchiha's caretaker. I believe you have a good reason in wanting to help him and I will not obstruct you."

Hearing this, her eyes shimmered as she looked up and smiled. "Shino-kun."

"However," Shino added, "if I find out that the Uchiha is harming you in any way after this, I will act accordingly, Hinata."

Hinata nodded, a small smile etched on her face. "T-Thank you, Shino-kun." She murmured before looking at Kiba who was patting Akamaru.

"Tch," he grumbled, "not like we have a choice, right Akamaru?"

Akamaru barked and Hinata smiled at the two. "Sorry Kiba-kun, Akamaru."

"Yea, yea." Kiba grumbled before smiling at her slightly. "You better take care of yourself well and not let him hurt you, because unlike you, Shino and I aren't really merciful."

That was the only acknowledgment she needed, the only acknowledgement she would ask for. With a bright smile now on her face, she vowed she would do this job well.

**.**

**.**

**.**

She did vow to do her job well, but when she arrived at Sasuke's apartment, it was a different story. One, her exhaustion was finally taking a toll on her and she felt lifeless. Two, even though she knew she was exhausted, she didn't refuse when Sasuke requested for another sparring session. She knew this could be suicide on her part and it nearly did.

She couldn't really remember what had happened. One moment, she was sparring with him when he suddenly vanished as always. The next thing she knew, the three Uchihas were practically screaming at her to watch out and then she felt a hard blow before everything went black.

When she came to, she realized she was in a room, lying on an unfamiliar bed. The room looked familiar though and she remembered entering it once or twice. When it finally hit her, she realized that this was Sasuke's room. Panicking when she realized that she was in a forbidden territory, she tried to get up, but a hand stopped her.

"Do not move, Hyuuga." His cold voice ordered her. She obeyed. Tilting her head slightly, her pale eyes was met with his intense obsidian ones, making her shuddered slightly.

"You didn't tell me that you were exhausted." He spoke, his voice was still cold but yet to her it seemed concern?

"I didn't think it mattered, Uchiha-san." She answered truthfully. "You wanted to spar and I just…"

Sasuke grimaced. He said nothing else. Silence filled the room and Hinata wondered how long she had been unconscious.

"It's five in the evening. You're unconscious for about fours hours." He answered as though reading her mind.

Her eyes widened hearing the time. She tried to get up but he stopped her once again. "I said do not move. Do you not understand?" He growled.

"B-But, it's nearing dinner. I should start preparing."

"Seriously?" He scoffed. "You're worried about dinner when you're practically drained right now? You're _weird,_ Hyuuga."

"But as a caretaker, I'm supposed to cater to your needs…"

"Don't worry about dinner," he snapped, "we can order take-out or something. Just freaking_ rest._ If you move, I'll _kill_ you."

She decided to obey because Sasuke looked really irritated that she had no idea whether he was serious when he said he would kill her. Maybe he would, but she was still somewhat surprised that he was currently concerned over her well-being. Was this some kind of dream?

"What do you want?" He suddenly asked. She gave him a confused look and Sasuke rubbed his head in irritation. "Dinner. Any preferences?"

Hinata began to believe that perhaps this was some kind of dream. She stared at him blankly for a good few seconds and when he gave her an annoyed look, she knew it was time to answer. "U-Umm, what do you want? I'll just eat what you get."

She had no idea what she had said wrong because all of a sudden, Uchiha Sasuke was scowling. "Seriously, Hyuuga, I asked you what _you_ want, not what _I_ want. So answer me before I change my mind and let you starve to _death_."

"R-Ramen." She blurted. "I f-feel like eating ramen."

He stared at her before he turned around and suddenly disappeared. Hinata wondered if this Uchiha Sasuke was just some kind of illusion. He was still cold, harsh and rude but he seemed slightly nicer than normal, and that couldn't be real right? It had to be some kind of illusion.

However when Sasuke returned half an hour later with two packed bowl of ramen from Ichiraku, she then knew that it wasn't an illusion. This was _real_. Uchiha Sasuke was indeed currently 'taking care' of her. Uchiha Sasuke did buy dinner for her. The question was why?

"Do you want it or not?" He asked coldly when she made no attempt to take the bowl of ramen. She flinched before snapping out of her thoughts and took the ramen from him. Opening the bowl, she sniffed in the scent and noticed that Sasuke had made himself comfortable on the floor eating his ramen while she was currently sitting on _his_ bed.

"U-Umm, U-Uchiha-san? Do you want me to get out from your bed?" She asked.

"Just shut up and eat." He snapped and even though it sounded harsh, she couldn't help but smile slightly because that seemed like his way of saying 'It's fine. You can stay on my bed. I don't mind.'

"T-Thank you." She murmured with a smile.

He didn't answer, but she knew that he had heard as he stopped eating for a while as if taking in her words before. She decided not to ask anything else and started eating her ramen before it got cold. As they ate, no words were said. The pair ate in complete silence, but strangely she didn't mind. Unlike the suffocating silence last time when he locked himself in his room, this silence was _comforting_. She knew both he and her wasn't much of a talker so perhaps it was better this way. She had no idea why he was nice to her, well nice in_ the Uchiha Sasuke's way,_ which was still harsh, but somewhat nice nevertheless.

This might just be a small development, but to her, this small development was a huge progress and she was content with it. At that thought, once again, Hyuuga Hinata smiled.

Maybe,_ just maybe_, things wouldn't be so bad after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Haunted by The Uchihas**

**Chapter 5**

_by deadly-chronicles_

They had gotten somewhat closer. Perhaps to others, there wasn't much of a change, but since this was _Uchiha Sasuke_, they relationship had somewhat improved compared to when it first started. Two weeks had passed since the incident where she had fainted and Sasuke had surprisingly took care of her. Ever since then, there was a breakthrough in their relationship. She wouldn't really label them as friends yet per se, but they were acquaintances, and also, she could confidently say that Sasuke had accepted her as a caretaker, even if he did not proclaim it.

Adding on to this positive development, Sasuke no longer locked himself in his room, choosing to meditate in the main hall instead, or just resting. They had exchanged a few words or so. When she greeted him politely, he would simply nodded. No conversation had occurred, but she didn't mind as it was better than nothing. His attempts to get rid of her had also officially stopped. He no longer tried to hurt or kill her, nor did he try to scare her away. Their sparring sessions were put on hold for a while till she recovered and when she finally did, they continued sparring once more, but he would avoid giving blows that could injure her fatally. In simple terms, Uchiha Sasuke was less of an asshole, as strange as it was.

It didn't mean that his personality had changed for the better. He was definitely still rude, harsh, and cold. He still ordered her around, demanding her to make specific dishes. When Naruto came over to visit, he would blatantly refuse to let him enter. When she had asked him why, he simply scowled at her. If he was talking to her, his tone was still rude, but she didn't mind. They were talking, and that was all that mattered for now. It was also part of his personality. She didn't expect it to change. At least, he tolerated her presence now, and just by that, she felt accepted.

"Hinata-chan!~ Stop smiling to yourself. I know that you're happy that our little Sasuke is finally nice to you~" Mikoto giggled and skipped around gleefully.

Her face turned crimson, but knowing that Sasuke could be nearby, she just smiled shyly and remained quiet. After getting caught 'talking to herself' a few times, she struck a deal with the three Uchihas. They could still talk, but she would reply with nods or smiles when Sasuke was nearby. If he wasn't, she would answer. The last thing she wanted was to get interrogated by the Uchiha who was finally warming up to her.

"Mother, I think the happier one is you. You were squealing loudly when Sasuke took care of her two weeks ago, even though he was still rude." Itachi commented.

"Oh do not shatter a mother's joy with your logic my dear son," Mikoto complained, "My heart is still in bliss that my little Sasuke is finally warming up to someone, furthermore, with a fine young lady."

She giggled, "He's so cold but he could be sweet in his own way as well, right Hinata-chan?"

Feeling like it was safe to speak, she answered. "I supposed." Hinata chuckled slightly.

"Aww don't be shy~" Mikoto teased before giggling again. "Ah my little Sasuke. I've taught him well.~ Any woman would melt if she was cared by my little Sasuke. I bet you melted too, Hinata-chan!"

"Well, not really." Hinata mumbled softly, "I'm just thankful."

"SERIOUSLY?" Mikoto pouted.

"Hyuuga-san is a rational woman." Itachi added with a small smirk.

"Itachi!" His mother whined.

"Annoying." Fugaku grumbled.

"Did you say something, _dear_?" Mikoto glared at him.

"N-Nothing at all." Fugaku tried to appease her.

"Good." Mikoto flashed a bright smile before whining once more, something about wondering what his son was lacking that caused Hinata not to swoon. Fugaku breathed a sigh of relief while Itachi could only sigh.

Hinata, seeing the antics of the three ghosts, couldn't help but to giggle herself.

**xXXxXXxXXxXXx**

Till now, he still had no idea why in the world he had helped her. When she suddenly lost consciousness two weeks ago , he could just ignore her and leave her alone there, but no he didn't. He ended up carrying her to his room and took care of her.

Why had he done that? Was it because he was getting soft?_ Maybe_, but Sasuke dismissed that fact by telling himself that even if he was getting soft, he wouldn't bother to help anyone.

Was it because she reminded him of her mother then?_ Perhaps_, but again Sasuke dismissed that fact by telling himself that he knew how to differentiate his mother and another woman, and even if that woman reminded him of his mother, it wasn't a good enough reason to help her because she _wasn't_ his mother.

Then what?

Was it because he suddenly recalled his mother's teaching about not to leave a lady alone when she was needing help? That seemed like a rational reason, but then again he had been leaving a lot of females alone even when they desperately needed help throughout the years, so what made the Hyuuga different?

Maybe it was just a spur of the moment? _Perhaps,_ but again Sasuke dismissed it as he always thought through things first before he would react. The _spur of the moment'_ occasions rarely happened, which made him realized something.

When the Hyuuga fainted, he just reacted. He didn't even stop to think. He just acted on impulse and helped her which was _scary_. Why did he react like that? _For one week I tried to kill her, and then one month under her care, I helped her on impulse? What the hell is wrong with me?_

Tired of finding a reason, Uchiha Sasuke came to a conclusion that perhaps, there was no reason. Maybe he was just bored in trying to kill, so he decided to help instead. It was a lame reason, even he knew that, and he knew that his reason for helping her was something deeper, something he didn't want to admit yet, such as he was getting_ comfortable_ with her. He would never admit that, so he shall stick to this reasoning and for once, he was more than happy when his door crashed open once again and a jumpy blonde barge in uninvited, disrupting him from his own confusing thoughts.

"TEME!" The loud blonde yelled and attempted to give him a brotherly hug, in which Sasuke quickly moved away, causing the said blonde to hug the air instead and tumble to the ground. "You bastard! Let me give you a brotherly hug for once!"

"Not interested." Sasuke answered impassively.

Irritated, Naruto punched him in where he happily returned and the two of them ended up tussling on the floor.

"Naruto-kun? Uchiha-san?" The timid Hyuuga came out from the kitchen, worried over the commotion she had heard.

Naruto had been visiting occasionally, making a point to visit his stoic friend whenever he could. While Sasuke didn't show much emotions, Hinata could tell that he actually didn't mind, and perhaps enjoy Naruto's constant visits. She knew he would never say it out loud though. Uchiha Sasuke would never admit to such things. She was glad though that Sasuke was beginning to open up to people around him.

She on the other hand was secretly anxious whenever Naruto came over. Although part of her kept saying that Naruto had probably forgotten her confession since he still hadn't given an answer, part of her was still hopeful that he would just answer her one day, even if it was a rejection.

"Hinata!~ Sasuke is being mean to me." Naruto pouted and Sasuke merely scowled while resisting the urge to punch him again. If Naruto thought that should be cute, then he thought wrong because Sasuke felt like vomiting.

Hinata giggled. "Then you will have to try harder, Naruto-kun. Would you like to join us for lunch?" She asked. "If Uchiha-san doesn't mind." She added when she noticed that his scowl deepened.

"Tch. Whatever." Sasuke murmured still frowning.

"I would love to, Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed happily. "Your cooking is like heaven!"

She blushed before she rushed back towards the kitchen to serve lunch. Naruto made himself comfortable in the dining hall, something which irked the Uchiha more. The last thing he remembered, this was _his_ house so why was everyone making themselves comfortable here_ without_ his permission?

"Oei, teme, have you been treating Hinata well?" Naruto asked with a grin. When Sasuke didn't bother to answer, he started yelling as expected.

"Uchiha-san has been treating me just fine, Naruto-kun," Hinata decided to answer, partly because Naruto was a little bit too loud for her ears to handle, another reason because if Naruto didn't shut up anytime soon, Sasuke looked like he was ready to strike any moment and that wouldn't end too well.

Thankfully, Naruto decided not to pursue the subject any further as his sniffing nose was distracted by lunch. She didn't cook much today, just plain rice with grilled fish, plus miso soup and freshly cut tomatoes as the side dish. When she finally served lunch, the two males wasted no time and started to ravish it. Sasuke was more civil in doing it, choosing to eat slowly and appropriately while Naruto just gobbled everything up. Hinata simply sat awkwardly in the far corner and ate her lunch quietly, sometimes stealing glances of Naruto who had already finished his lunch and chose to stare at the Uchiha who was staring back.

With a sigh, Hinata cleared the dishes, took her purse and quietly crept towards the door, not wanting to disturb the two males' glaring contest. She was about to open the door when an unexpected voice, his cold yet calm voice, someone whom she didn't expect to notice her movement, stopped her.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked.

She froze for a few seconds, stunned that he was actually asking about her whereabouts, before turning to face him. "U-Umm, to the market Uchiha-san. I've run out of supplies for dinner later so I'm going to get some."

Sasuke didn't answer her, or perhaps he was about to but didn't have the chance to since the blonde immediately rudely cut him off. "Wow, you're going grocery shopping, Hinata?" Naruto grinned. "Interesting! We should accompany you!"

"No, it's fine really." Hinata protested.

But Naruto didn't listen, or maybe he didn't even hear her weak protests as his attention was already on the Uchiha, yelling at him to go out. "Teme! Let's accompany Hinata to get supplies! It's your dinner as well!"

"No." Sasuke immediately answered.

"Teme! Stop being a bastard!"

"No." He repeated himself.

"You bastard!" Naruto lunged himself forward, pushing the annoyed Uchiha onto the floor and once again they were brawling.

"Don't you understand the meaning of no?" Sasuke growled in irritation.

"Teme! If you don't come with us, I will-"

"You will what?" Sasuke snapped.

Seriously, was Naruto threatening him? The Uchiha would never feel threatened, never ever. However, when he saw Naruto's sly grin, he was having second thoughts.

Naruto's grinned wider. "I will…"

**xXXxXXxXXxXXx**

He had no idea whether to be shocked that he was currently doing grocery shopping with the Hyuuga and the annoying idiot, or shocked over the fact that Naruto had somehow managed to threaten him. That moron actually threatened to remove Hinata from her caretaker's duties and then paste numerous of posters all over Konoha, advertising to the fangirls that Uchiha Sasuke was needing a new caretaker. Naruto said once he did that, Sasuke could expect girls banging on his door every single day demanding him to pick them.

He had no idea if Naruto was serious or not, but the idea of having fangirls chasing him around and demanding to be his caretaker freaked him out. He was content with the Hyuuga so far and he didn't want that to change, so here he was grumpily walking behind the reluctant Hyuuga and the grinning blonde as they walked through the market.

He was well aware of the stares he was receiving. After all, who wouldn't look with curiosity at the sight of_ the_ Uchiha Sasuke walking around the village market? Usually, when he was stared at, he would threaten them with his own death glares, but currently he was too irritated to glare at anyone.

Hinata was surprised that Sasuke was actually following them. Now, she was curious as to what exactly Naruto had said to him. When those two were brawling on the floor back at Sasuke's apartment, she did notice Naruto's sly grin and all of the sudden, Uchiha Sasuke turned _pale._ The next thing she knew, the two of them were following her. She was really curious as to what Naruto threatened Sasuke with. When she had asked Naruto, he merely grinned at her. She contemplated of asking Sasuke herself, but judging from his scowl and the deadly aura he was emitting, she decided against it because it was obvious that the Uchiha was pissed.

With a sigh, she decided to walk further from the annoyed Uchiha and the clueless blonde and start on her grocery shopping. Lucky for her, with three Uchiha ghosts trailing behind her, shopping for groceries was easier. Mikoto always knew her son likes and dislikes. She would always give pointers as what to buy and what not to. At times she wondered how she never failed to know her son's favourites when she had never been there to watch him grow. When she asked her about it once, Mikoto told her that it's a mother's intuition. Satisfied with the answer, she just allowed Mikoto to guide her whenever Sasuke's needs were involved.

"Hinata, why are you getting a lot of tomatoes?" Naruto asked her, curious as to why she was picking many fresh tomatoes.

"Umm, Uchiha-san likes tomatoes you see…" She answered while putting in more tomatoes into the basket. Naruto looked mildly surprised before looking at Sasuke who had his stoic face on.

"Then the apples?" Naruto asked again.

"Apparently, Uchiha-san likes apples as well."

Now, Naruto looked quite stunned now, his eyes widenening before looking at Sasuke again who now seemed rather interested.

"Then, Hinata, why don't you get ingredients to make ramen? I think you should make ramen one day!"

"A-Ah. Apparently, Uchiha-san doesn't really like ramen. He only eats it when someone else feels like eating it." Hinata said and blushed when she remembered that she had asked him for ramen two weeks ago and he actually ate it with her.

Naruto's jaw practically dropped as he heard Hinata's answer. Once again, he looked at the Uchiha and pointed accusingly at him, who now was somewhat pleased. "You! Bastard! How in the world does Hinata know you so well! I don't even know you dislike ramen!"

Sasuke seemed slightly amused, but he just shrugged his shoulders in response. Hinata, after hearing Naruto's yelling, observed the two with worry.

"Naruto-kun, are you all right?" She asked with concern only to have Naruto now pointing at her.

"Hinata!~ Don't tell me, last time when you were stalking me, all those while, you were actually secretly stalking Sasuke?" Naruto asked dramatically.

Hearing it, her pale face immediately changed colour, turning bright red. She had no idea whether to feel petrified that Naruto knew she had been stalking him when they were younger, or feel horrified over the fact that Naruto now thought that she had been stalking Sasuke instead.

"U-Umm… I-I…" She fidgeted nervously. She was feeling rather light-headed now. "W-Well… I-I…"

Naruto gasped. "Hinata, could it be… that you've a secret crush on Sasuke?"

By then, her face had turned to maximum crimson that it couldn't go any redder despite the fact that she was even more embarrassed now and perhaps even slightly angry. How could Naruto think that she had a crush on Sasuke when she had confessed to him? Had he really forgotten about her confession?

All of a sudden, she was feeling dizzy. She could still hear Naruto's rambling but she had no idea what he was saying because everything was spinning. Sasuke seemed to notice this because almost immediately, he walked towards her and stood in front of her.

"Hyuuga, get a hold of yourself." He murmured, but Hinata only tensed further.

Realizing what was about to happen, Sasuke glared at Naruto. "Moron, shut up. If you continue on rambling she will…" He told Naruto but before he could complete his sentence, he felt something hard hitting his chest and he would have fallen if he didn't instinctively put his arms on her shoulders to stabilize the now unconscious girl. Sasuke immediately frowned.

"…faint."

**xXXxXXxXXxXXxXXxXXx**

When she woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. The scent though was similar to a room she had been in a few months ago and when her head was alert enough, it occurred to her that she was in a hospital. She tried to remember what happened but could only vaguely recall Naruto's loud voice before she felt herself landing on something broad and firm.

"You're awake." The familiar voice she knew so well now alerted her of his presence there. She looked at him in confusion and as expected, his onyx eyes were looking at her intensely. Sensing her puzzlement, he spoke again. "You fainted."

"A-Ah." She managed to mutter out as she immediately recalled what happened. Naruto had said some embarrassing things which caused her to faint. She inwardly sighed to herself for fainting over such small things. She felt pathetic. Not knowing what else to say, she looked around and saw the bags around the Uchiha. Again, she looked at him confused.

"Your groceries." He stated. "Naruto paid for them. As an apology for making you faint."

"O-Oh." She blinked and her lips curved into a small smile. "Where's Naruto-kun?"

"Don't know." Sasuke shrugged.

"O-Oh." She fidgeted. "Why are you here then?"

"What do you think?" Sasuke frowned.

She blushed slightly. "A-Ah, you don't have to stay…"

"I don't want to carry all these groceries back on my own." He told her rudely.

"O-Oh." She nervously fidgeted again before silence loomed over them.

"You still like him?" He suddenly asked. Her eyes widened slightly. She didn't answer but her blush allowed him to guess. He frowned. "Then why don't you tell him?"

"I did." Hinata smiled sadly. "He hasn't answered."

"Then forget about him."

She stared at him, appalled. "W-What?"

"It's for your own good." He deadpanned.

"B-But, he could still be undecided… I should at least wait for an answer."

"Suit yourself." He eyed her coldly and grimaced. "But if years later and he still hasn't given you an answer and get engaged to someone else, don't say I didn't warn you."

She flinched slightly at his harsh tone and looked down sadly. "W-Why are you telling me all this?"

Why? He had no idea. In these two months, she had helped him a lot, cooked for him, cleaned his house and agreed to be his sparring partner even though she knew he could be violent. She had offered to take all his anger in, something which still surprised him even till now, so perhaps it only seemed fair if he returned the favour. Now, he was trying to save her from a potential heartbreak but if she didn't listen to him then he couldn't care less. It wasn't his problem. He did his part. He had warned her.

"Like I said, it's for your own good." He repeated rather coldly.

She didn't say anything. She had no idea what to say honest. The silence was getting awkward and she was secretly thankful when Sakura entered the room to check up on her. Noticing the tension, Sakura observed at the two suspiciously, before she deemed Hinata was fit to go.

Once Hinata was declared fit to leave the hospital, Sasuke quickly carried the entire bag of groceries, leaving none for her and left the room. She was startled since he had said that the only reason he stayed was because he didn't want to carry them on his own. She asked him if she could carry some, but he gave her a cold glare and decided not to argue since it was obvious that he was in a foul mood. Hinata decided to just timidly follow him behind as they made their way back towards his apartment.

They didn't interact during their journey back. Sasuke stride quickly up front and she anxiously plodded behind. She recalled their last conversation and bit her lip nervously. What if Sasuke was right? What if Naruto didn't try to answer her at all? She shook her head and tried to dismiss all the negative thoughts away. No, Naruto wasn't like that. He would definitely give her an answer, _right?_

For some strange reason, Hinata wasn't sure anymore.

Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't realize that Sasuke had stopped. She nearly walked onto his back, but managed to stop on time. She looked up wondering why he had stopped. He seemed to be looking at something and with closer observation, Hinata realized that his eyes showed pain.

"Uchiha-san, what's wrong?" She asked out of concern.

He didn't answer and continue staring at that one spot. "Nothing." He then said and strolled away.

Curious, Hinata looked towards the direction he was staring at. The gate was closed but somehow it looked like a memorial and judging from his pained expression just now, she was sure it was not 'nothing.' As she tried to catch up to him, Hinata made a mental note to herself to check that place out the very next morning.

**\**

**xXXxXXxXXxXXxXXx**

In the early morning the next day, Hyuuga Hinata stood outside the metal gate. Strangely, it wasn't locked but the gate did seem old and dusty. Wasting no time, she pushed the gate open and took a step in, and her eyes widened at the sight of all the stones.

"This is the Uchiha clan memorial site." Fugaku told her. "In other words, our graves."

Hearing that, Hinata continued walking, passing more gravestones until she found the names she were looking for. Now standing before two graves- Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto, as well as a recently built memorial of Uchiha Itachi next to the other two, Hinata smiled sadly at the state of their resting place. This entire memorial site was old and messy. Weeds were all over their graves and it saddened her that the final resting place of all the Uchihas was not taken care of at all.

"It's kind of weird standing in front of your own grave." Mikoto commented before laughing softly which to her sounded force. "It seems they had just built Itachi's memorial beside our graves."

"My body isn't in Konoha. Having a memorial seems good enough." Itachi murmured dryly.

"After all you've done, a memorial is at least something you deserve, son." Fugaku told him.

Itachi let out a small smile before looking at Hinata who had been strangely quiet ever since they got here. Her face was lowered and her eyes hidden from their view.

"Hyuuga-san, are you all right?" Itachi asked worriedly. Hinata slowly looked up, staring at the graves again.

"I'll be right back." She said before she suddenly ran out.

The three Uchiha ghosts looked at each with worry wondering what was wrong with her. However as she had promised, she returned fifteen minutes later, holding some sort of box. She then squatted down in front of the graves, dusting each of them and using her bare hands, she began plucking some of the excessive weeds. Using a scissors from the box she had brought, she began cutting some of them.

"Hinata-chan…." Mikoto mumbled as the three Uchihas watched the Hyuuga cleaned up their graves. She was so engrossed with her work that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her.

"When you didn't come by this morning, I thought you've finally given up for good," His cold voice startled her from her cleaning, "But knowing you, I figured you're here."

She jumped at his voice. "H-How did you know I'm here?"

"You're easy to read."

"S-Sorry."

She figured he wouldn't like her to clean up the graves. This was_ his clan's_ memorial site after all. She was a Hyuuga, an _outsider._ She stopped and ended up standing beside him awkwardly as he stared at his parents' gravestones and his brother's memorial. Again, she noticed the pain before the mask of indifference was on once more. She wished she could say something, anything that could make him feel better, but she wasn't good with words while he was terrible in expressing his emotions.

Seeing his clan's memorial site and his family graves in such a dire state pained him greatly. Did anyone care for this place when he left? Did anyone pay their respects to the dead here? Did anyone even visit this place? Judging from how worn out it looked, the answer could only be no and that upset him. Was his clan really so despised? Were they not significant enough that no one bothered to take care of them even after death?

_Are my parents and my brother not significant enough?_

He was agitated. He was angry. He was hurt.

"We can clean up this memorial site." Her soft voice broke his thoughts and he glared at her. "I-I mean if y-you don't mind. You don't have to do it. I mean I don't mind doing it by myself, but o-of course only if you allow me too since this place belongs to your c-clan…"

His eyes widened a fraction before it turned impassive once again. After a moment of hesitation, he granted her request. "You… can clean up this place."

Since he had given her the permission, she wasted no time. Squatting down again, she began to pluck out the excess weeds once more. Sasuke watched as the Hyuuga started to clean up his parents' grave and his brother's memorial. Why she was willing to do it, he had no idea. This Hyuuga was indeed strange, but perhaps that was what made her different.

After much contemplation on his part, Sasuke decided to help her out. She looked mildly surprise but he gave her the 'this is my clan's memorial site so I can do whatever I want such as helping out' look. She gave him a small smile before returning to her work and the pair cleaned up the graves in silence.

Once they were done with Sasuke's family graves and memorial, they started cleaning the graves of the other Uchihas, and by the time they were finally done, it was already 5 in the evening and their whole body was filled with sweats and dirt, but they didn't mind. It was worth it. The memorial site was clean now like it should have been: _properly cared of._

Sasuke thought it was finally done, but Hinata surprised him once again when she suddenly ran off and returned with _many_ flowers. He gave her an odd look as she placed one flower each on each graves. When she came to his parents' grave and brother's memorial, she placed a bouquet of flowers on each of theirs.

"Since we're here, it's only right for us to pay our respects." She murmured softly before kneeling down in front of his parents' grave and brother's memorial to give her respect. _I hope you will achieve your peace soon, Mikoto-san, Fugaku-san and Itachi-san. I promise I'll take care of your 'home' from now on._

He was surprised but he hid it. He was also confused; confused about _her_, but he hid it as well. Why was she doing all this? Cleaning up the entire memorial site... He was pretty sure that wasn't part of her job description.

Sasuke grimaced. "Hyuuga…"

She looked up to face him and noticed his frustrated expression. "Yes, Uchiha-san?"

"I-I… Just… It's… I don't really say this… I don't really bother to but…" He pulled his hair in frustration. It was so damn hard to say, but in these situations, it was only appropriate, right? After much hesitation and mentally cursing himself, he was finally able to blurt it out and it came out as a whisper. "…Thanks."

Her eyes immediately widened. He was looking away from her now and she could tell that he was embarrassed. To say that she was surprised was an understatement. To hear him say that word was _rare._ She even thought that she was hearing things. Did the Uchiha just…?

"W-What?" She blurted dumbly.

"You heard me the first time around. I'm not going to repeat it." He scoffed.

Indeed, it was rather hard for someone like him to say it, but somehow did anyway, and he said it to _her. _

She couldn't help but smile. "You're welcome, Uchiha-san."

"Hn." He said and glanced at his family's graves once more before he was disrupted by a growling sound and he knew exactly what itwas. Slightly amused, he looked at the Hyuuga who was now clutching her stomach while blushing madly.

"_Hungry_, Hyuuga?" He asked nonchalantly but yet it sounded teasing.

"W-Well..."

They did spend their entire morning and afternoon here cleaning this memorial site up, missing lunch in the process, thus he wouldn't be surprised if she was hungry. Even he was hungry, but unlike her, he managed to hide that fact even though he hadn't eaten all day as well Staring at the now setting sun, he knew it was nearing dinner and giving another glance at the Hyuuga, he wasn't going to make her prepare dinner. She looked _exhausted._

"Tch." He snorted. "Let's go."

She looked up at him confused. "G-Go where?"

"To eat."

"The two of us?" She blinked.

"What do you think? Is there anyone else here we us?" He frowned.

_Yes, but you can't see them. _"W-Well, no."

"Then yes, the two of us." He snapped in irritation. "So, are you coming or not?"

"Y-Yes!" She squeaked. "But U-Uchiha-san, we're covered with dirt. It's somewhat impolite."

"I don't care." He glared at her. "They just have to deal with dirt for a while."

"A-Ah okay." She mumbled. "Then where are we going?"

He shrugged. "You choose. But not ramen." He added with a scowl.

She actually chuckled. "A-Ah, there's this new place recently opened. Maybe we can try that?"

"Whatever. I don't care." He growled and increased his pace as he walked out of the memorial site. "Hurry up. I'm hungry."

With a small smile, she caught up to him and shyly walked beside him feeling content at the way things are progressing now.

Back at the memorial site, the three Uchihas watched as the pair left. With now warm smiles on their faces, they trailed behind the two with the same thoughts. Perhaps, with Hinata's help, their little Sasuke could be saved after all.

They just had to believe.


End file.
